Putnam, CT – Two individuals were transported to Day Kimball Hospital with serious injuries, one requiring further transport to UMass Worcester via LIFE STAR, following a 2-car head-on crash Thursday afternoon.
At approximately 12:21 PM on Thursday, August 1st, 2024 the East Putnam Fire Department along with Putnam EMS, Woodstock EMS, multiple Quinebaug Valley Paramedics, and the Connecticut State Police were dispatched for a 2 car motor vehicle accident in the area of Kennedy Dr and Sunset Ave.
Units arrived to find a head-on crash with 1 vehicle’s rear wheels suspended on a guard rail with the driver trapped inside. With two ambulances arriving on the scene in short succession, crews were able to quickly focus on both victims. The victim who was not entrapped was rapidly transported to Day Kimball Hospital.
Another crew entered the vehicle with the entrapped victim and began rendering aid. Personnel were able to utilize the back seat and passenger side to reach the patient as the fire department worked to remove the vehicle around them.
In order to free the patient, firefighters had to cut away the driver’s door, which was made significantly more difficult due to its structure being compromised during the crash causing it to tear apart versus moving away from the vehicle as a single piece. Once the door was removed the front (A) pillar was cut allowing crews to use a hydraulic ram to lift the dash the few inches needed to free the victims’ legs.
Once extricated, the victim was transported to Day Kimball Hospital to a waiting LIFE STAR helicopter and subsequently airlifted to UMass Worcester.
(Updated) According to the Connecticut State Police, at the time of the crash a 2019 Jaguar I-pace SE, operated by a 55-year-old Dayville man, was traveling Eastbound on Kennedy Dr when it veered out of its lane striking a 2016 Ford Taurus SHO, operated by a 60-year-old Dayville man, head-on.
Kennedy Dr was closed for approximately 2 hours due to the crash and follow-up investigation.
Agencies that responded included the East Putnam Fire Department, Putnam EMS, Woodstock EMS, KB Ambulance QV Medic, Hartford Healthcare LIFE STAR, and the Connecticut State Police Troop D.
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