A pair of serious, unrelated automobile crashes in Andover on Monday required a medical helicopter to land in the area on two separate occasions.
A medical helicopter was brought down on Route 125 in town Monday afternoon to assist a man who crashed his car into a Route 28 bridge abutment on Route 125.
The 70-year-old North Andover man, later identified as James Sheridan, suffered two broken femurs and severe damage to his head in the crash, according to Mass. State Police trooper Dan O’Brien. He was flown to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
INTERSTATE 93 CRASH
In a separate accident, a 57-year-old woman was transported by medical helicopter to a Boston hospital following a single-vehicle crash Monday evening on Interstate 93 near the intersection of Route 495, state police said.
The I-93 crash occurred at 7:13 p.m. First responders found the lone occupant of the vehicle unconscious at the scene. She was brought to Lawrence General Hospital and later airlifted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, police said.
Her condition and name were not available, with police wanting to notify her family of the accident. What caused the crash is under investigation, according to state police.
ROUTE 125 CRASH
The cause of the crash into the bridge abutment on Route 125 also is under investigation, O’Brien said.
“He veered off to the side and struck the bridge abutment,” he said, adding that the man was driving north on Route 125 when the crash took place.
As crews removed him from his car, he was seen moving his arms, showing he was conscious after the crash.
The Route 125 accident was called in to police at 1:55 p.m. Route 125 had to be shut down as Andover Police, Fire and State Police responded to the scene.
The medical helicopter landed directly on Route 125 during the accident because other possible landing zones weren’t available at the time, according to Fire Chief Mike Mansfield.
“We have predetermined landing zones that have been identified in the town of Andover that have been approved by Medflight organizations,” Mansfield said. “Because of the snow and inability to get to some of those sites closest to where the accident occurred, it’s not unusual to have a Medflight helicopter land on one of the roads.”
The Andover Fire Department, which has its own ambulance services, generally has medical helicopters land on public thoroughfares “a half dozen times a year,” according to Mansfield.
“It’s usually on the highways — 495, 93,” he said. “We’re looking at a spot where we can drop that thing — we can land the bird — that’s 200 by 200 [feet].”
For more information or questions on this story, email dluca@andovertownsman.com.
