AMHERST — A woman was hospitalized after a one-car crash into a utility pole on a section of Bay Road that prompted the closure of the road for several hours Sunday morning and afternoon, according to Amherst Police.
The passenger car was traveling around 1000 Bay Road at 10:10 a.m. when it went off the road and damaged the pole, requiring the street to be closed between South East Street and Elf Hill Road.
Fire Capt. Stephen Gaughan said his department was initially called for the crash and a fire, prompting all on-duty firefighters to respond in two engines, a rescue truck and an ambulance.
At the scene of the crash, firefighters found no active fire, but the female driver, who was conscious and the lone occupant, was trapped in the vehicle. Firefighters and bystanders kept her calm and offered her blankets to stay warm in the subfreezing temperatures. Eversource arrived within 40 minutes and its workers cut power to the lines.
At that time, around 11:04 a.m., Gaughan said paramedics removed the woman from the vehicle and took her to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment.
The cause of the crash will be determined by police.
Gaughan said the live wires that fell were a danger, but that everyone acted responsibly.
“Any car accident involving live wires is a very dangerous situation,” Gaughan said.
The vehicle, which was destroyed, was towed from the scene.
In November, on a section of the same road about a mile west, a school transport van went off the road into a utility pole and rolled onto its side, though no one was injured. That crash was likely caused by black ice.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
