Driver flown to hospital when tractor

Jun 01, 2024

Driver flown to hospital in critical condition

Driver flown to hospital in critical condition

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Driver flown to hospital in critical condition

A driver was flown to a hospital Thursday after his tractor-trailer veered off a busy Bellingham, Massachusetts, roadway and crashed into a house, which now needs to be demolished.

Officials said calls came in at 9:27 a.m. about the truck crashing into a home at 107 Hartford Ave.

"The communications center received multiple 911 calls reporting a tractor-trailer into a house. At that time, appropriate resources were dispatched, both police and fire. Upon our arrival of both police and fire, we found that a tractor-trailer had gone through the back side of the house," said Bellingham Fire Chief Bill Miller.

From Sky5, it appears a truck hauling a piece of heavy equipment on a flatbed veered off Hartford Avenue and drove through a neighboring yard before striking a Cape-style home on the corner of Nason Street.

"So, I was just sitting on my porch, and all sudden, I heard this loud truck, and I looked up, and it came flying through the front yard, took out my fence, went across the street and literally into that neighbor's yard," neighbor Eric Banks said.

A gaping hole could be seen in the back of the house. Debris from the Banks' fencing and landscaping littered the roadway.

"He was coming down, from the looks of it preliminary, coming from Hopedale, coming towards Bellingham. So, he would be heading east on Hartford Avenue," said Bellingham Police Chief Ken Fitzgerald.

The neighbor said he saw good Samaritans and first responders get the driver out of the truck. Officials said he was flown to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester and is in critical condition.

The driver had a dog with him in the truck. The dog was not injured and is in the care of Animal Control, officials said.

The crash remains under investigation, but speed does not appear to be a factor, Fitzgerald said.

A woman in her 90s lives at the home but was not there at the time of the crash.

Bellingham police said Hartford Avenue was closed for several hours between North Main Street and Depot Street and is expected to close again "in the near future" when the home is demolished.

Mendon, Hopedale and state police are assisting in the investigation.

Video from Sky5: