NH Aerial Used as Blocker Limits Damage at Crash Scene

A New Hampshire fire apparatus used as a blocker vehicle prevented a multi-vehicle traffic accident from becoming worse over the weekend.

The initial crash happened shortly after 5:30 a.m. Saturday along the Spaulding Turnpike in Dover when the driver of a Subaru lost control and struck a guard rail, Foster's Daily Democrat reports. A driver in a pickup truck stopped to help the Subaru's driver, but that's when a Cadillac also lost control, colliding with the Subaru and hitting the pickup's driver.

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Dover firefighters responded to the incident and set up an aerial in a blocking position at the scene. Finally, a box truck crashed into the aerial, which sustained significant damage but stopped the truck from running into the people still being treated from the earlier accidents.

"If it was not used for that purpose, the box truck would have come directly into the accident scene and hit people," Dover Fire Chief Paul Haas told the Democrat.

"The situation could have been much worse," he added. "We view it as the system worked and protected our members from being personally damaged or killed."

All told, three people in the crashes were taken to the hospital. The pickup's driver was seriously injured, and the Subaru's driver suffered minor injuries. The Cadillac's driver wasn't injured but was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

No firefighters were injured in any of Saturday's incidents. Arrangements have been made to repair the damaged aerial and return it to the department as soon as possible, according to the Democrat.

The accidents are still under investigation.