Car Crashes Into Pole, Lands In River Near Merrimack Fire Station

MERRIMACK, NH — Merrimack Fire Rescue was first at the scene of a violent crash because it was right in front of the town's fire station on D.W. Highway on Tuesday.

Firefighters staffing the Central Station, located at 432 Daniel Webster Highway, heard a loud crash and discovered a motor vehicle had occurred in the front driveway of the fire station.

The vehicle involved struck a utility pole, crashed through the guard rail in front of the station, and then continued over the embankment to the river.

Firefighters found the vehicle approximately 15 feet down the embankment resting in what used to be the spillway for the former dam.

The primary power line that was still live was across the roadway, and the fire department could not have access to the D.W. Highway due to the downed power lines.

Firefighters began to extricate and rescue the occupant of the vehicle. Bedford firefighters responded with an ambulance and came from the North and positioned the ambulance outside the downed power lines.

All on-duty firefighters, including Engine 2 from the South Merrimack station, worked quickly to access the victim and extricate them safely. Once the victim was extricated from the car, Firefighters created a rope hauling system to bring the victim back up to the street level, and the victim was transported to the Elliot Hospital by Bedford EMTs with Merrimack paramedics.

Mutual aid from Manchester and Nashua fire departments provided station coverage while the apparatus from the Central fire station was blocked by the downed power lines.

The victim, an approximately 30-year-old woman, was seriously injured, but specific information on the injuries is unknown.

Merrimack NH Patch will update as additional information is available.