ATHOL — One person died and two others were sent to the hospital with serious injuries following a car crash Sunday night on South Athol Road.
A Nissan Altima flipped onto its roof after colliding with a tree on the straightaway, near 1060 South Athol Road, resulting in one person being ejected from the car. The two others in the early 2000s vehicle were removed from the car by first responders using extricating tools, Athol Police Chief Russell Kleber said.
Police responded to the scene around 8:40 p.m. and stayed well into the early hours of the morning.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police, but Kleber said speeding is something they’re looking at.
It was a “tremendous collision,” Kleber said, resulting in a car that was completely destroyed.
“For two of the occupants to have survived, it just really shows you that the design of the vehicle is impressive,” Kleber said, noting the front and side airbags that helped.
The two who sustained serious injuries were brought to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, according to the Northwestern district attorney’s office, which is handling the case because of the fatality. Kleber said one of the occupants may have first been taken to Athol Hospital.
“It was a real good team effort,” Kleber said, with his police department, and the Athol and Orange fire departments responding to the accident.
Given the accident was a fatality, no names involved will be released until at least 24 hours after the time of the accident, per protocols of the district attorney’s office.