A serious accident on Route 6 in Mattapoisett involving three vehicles caused a complete shut down of all four lanes of the state highway during the late morning of Tuesday, June 12.
One car was overturned in front of the Mattapoisett police station just before 11:00 am smoking from the engine and debris from the interior and exterior of the charcoal-colored Mazda was scattered across the highway and blowing down the road.
Another black minivan ended up in a wooded patch to the southwest corner of the vacant open lot next to 67 Marion Road, its front end smashed and the windshield shattered. A third less damaged white sedan was pulled over.
At about 10:45 am, Mattapoisett Police radioed in a “serious” motor vehicle accident in front of the station, with police and fire arriving shortly thereafter. An ambulance was deployed from the police station and police and fire worked quickly to extricate the passenger of the car that had flipped.
Rescuers pulled the driver, a white male who appeared to be in his 40s, from the overturned SUV and transported him to the ambulance. He was bleeding from an apparent head wound. There were no passengers in the vehicle with him.
A med flight was ordered and then canceled once the injured male’s condition was assessed
The driver of another vehicle, a female appearing in her 30s, sat on the sidewalk wearing a neck brace talking to officers.
There were no others with apparent injuries.
One witness told police that the overturned vehicle that was heading west “was flying,” but police had not yet pieced together the sequence of events that led to the accident, and there were no further details released at the scene.
The maximum speed for this stretch of the highway is posted at 50 mph.
Firefighters from Marion and Fairhaven arrived at the scene to provide assistance if needed, and a police cruiser was situated at the Route 6/North Street intersection to prevent the easterly passage of traffic down Route 6.
The accident occurred within an hour of the installation of a speed detection sign on Route 6 in East Marion along a stretch of highway infamous for speeding.
This story may be updated as further details are released.
By Jean Perry
