Tree falls on van in Oxford during snowstorm, trapping driver
OXFORD - Thursday morning's wet and heavy snow was enough to bring multiple trees down in Central Massachusetts.
The Oxford Fire Department spent much of their morning responding to calls like the one that came in just after 8:00 a.m. A tree had fallen onto a van traveling on Sutton Avenue and crashed through the windshield.
"When we initially arrived on scene the entire roof was crushed down above the passenger and the driver with a tree on top of it. And branches blocking the door to access the driver," said Lt. Nicholas Lambert with the Oxford Fire Department.
Firefighters rescue driver trapped in van
There were two people in the vehicle. One was able to get themselves out, but the driver was trapped and needed first responders to cut branches in order to reach him. The driver was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
"They were driving down Sutton Avenue and it was just wrong place wrong time," said Lt. Lambert. "Between the snow load, the recent drought that has also weakened all the trees, combined is causing some of them to fall in the area."
The Oxford Fire Department also reported a tree fell on a house along Federal Hill Road. No one was hurt in that incident.
It took first responders about 40 minutes to clear the scene on Sutton Ave. Thursday morning. The road is a main thoroughfare to I-395 and it backed up traffic for miles.
WBZ spoke with someone over the phone who knows the two men who were in the van. They are both said to be shaken up. The man who is in the hospital is alert and talking.