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LEICESTER, Mass. — A motor vehicle accident early this morning closed down a section of Rt. 9 in Leicester for several hours and left a portion of the town without power.
Leicester Police Chief James Hurley stated that the crash occurred at approximately 5:51 a.m. on Rt. 9 near the intersection of Cross Street.
Officers responded to the scene after the LPD dispatch center received multiple calls reporting a serious accident on Rt. 9. The first arriving police units found a 2006 Subaru Legacy crashed into a utility pole.
The force of the crash caused the pole to break in half an move forward striking an unoccupied 2006 Jeep Cherokee that was parked in a nearby driveway.
Two of the occupants of the motor vehicle that struck the pole were transported to U-Mass/Memorial University Campus by Leicester EMS with non-life threatening injuries. A third occupant of the vehicle declined medical treatment.
Rt. 9 had to be closed while National Grid secured the broken pole, and remove wires which had fallen. Traffic was detoured off of Rt. 9 onto secondary roads which mad traveling in the area very slow and congested.
After the electrical lines were secured the vehicle was then removed. Once the vehicle was removed National Grid had to replace the broken pole and repair damage to other utility poles in the area that was caused by the crash.
The repair work that needed to be done after the crash led to the loss of power in several sections of Leicester including the Leicester Police Station, which was operating on an emergency generator for a portion of the morning.
Hurley said that while the cause of the crash remains under investigation, the preliminary findings of the initial officers first on the scene indicates that both speed and alcohol may have been factors in the crash.
Police have not identified any of the occupants of the motor vehicle at this point as they want to make sure the parents of the injured occupants have been notified.
Rt. 9 was partially reopened at approximately 12:30 PM but crews were still on the scene doing repairs. The accident is being investigated by Sgt. Daniel Dyson and Officer Craig Guertin.
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