Williamstown Crash Injures Two

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A two-vehicle crash near Cumberland Farms on Monday, Dec. 28, sent residents to the hospital.

Police said Jonathon P. Murphy, 50, of Harrison Avenue pulled out of a Main Street business without stopping at about 1:38 p.m. His 2002 Chevrolet pickup collided with a 2008 Ford sedan operated by Kimberly D. Scott, 22, of North Hoosac Road.

Scott and a passenger were transported to North Adams Regional Hospital by Village Ambulance Service. Both vehicles sustained significant damage and were removed from the scene by Ron's Auto Repair.

Murphy was issued a citation for negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Hoosac Valley Wrestler Injured in Crash

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A Hoosac Valley High School teen was seriously injured Wednesday night in a one-car accident that closed Routes 2 & 7 for three hours.

Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate Nicholas Morey, 17, of East Road from his 1995 Jeep Cherokee after it landed in Hemlock Brook. He was taken to Berkshire Medical Center by Village Ambulance with leg and head injuries. A Life Flight helicopter from Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center was contacted but could not fly because of the weather conditions.

Morey was on his way home after competing in a wrestling match at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington as a member of the Mount Greylock Regional High School's cooperative wrestling team. Buses had returned the team to Mount Greylock, from which Morey took his own car home.

Police received 911 calls beginning at 9:12 p.m. that the Jeep had veered off the road, over the guardrails and into the brook just south of Coyote Flaco.

Traffic was rerouted at the Five Corners intersection and Field Park until 12:30 a.m. while the state police accident reconstruction team investigated the accident and the vehicle was pulled from the brook.

Williamstown Police were also assisted at the scene by members of the North Adams Police.

Update on Dec. 18: The investigation into Morey's accident on Dec. 16 was completed. As a result, he was issued a citation for a marked-lanes violation. Speed and alcohol were not contributing factors in the crash.

Car Accident Victim Charged With B&E

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A Pittsfield man reportedly tossed into the air by a moving vehicle on Thursday afternoon fled the scene to hide out in a nearby basement, stopping first to provision himself with the homeowner's iPod, cell phone and beer, said police.

Mahadi S. Thompson, 28, of Peck's Road was charged with single counts each of breaking and entering in the daytime and larceny from a building. He was released on personal recognizance.

Thompson "was less than cooperative with police regarding the motor vehicle incident," according to police; the vehicle and driver involved have not been identified.

A motorist westbound on Green River Road saw a man believed to be Thompson struck or thrown from a vehicle at about 2 p.m. near the Hopper Road intersection. She called 911 to report seeing a man "fly through the air" and apparently knocked out of his shoes, which were lying in the middle of the road.

The victim, described as black and wearing a sweat shirt, ran up to her car and asked for a ride to the hospital. When the motorist told him she was calling 911, the victim ran up the road and then through a yard and disappeared behind some nearby homes, said police.

Police responding to the scene were told by several homeowners they'd seen a man matching the victim's description run through their yards. After a brief search failed to turn up the victim, the town's K-9 Unit (Blue the bloodhound and Officer Michael Ziemba) were called in.

Blue used the scent from the shoes to track the victim from behind the homes and back out to the road, where a man's tracks could be seen in the mud. A resident of a home close by said a family member had just returned home to discover a cottage on the property locked up. The cottage had been left unlocked when the family member had left a few hours before.

Police said Thompson was found in a basement closet, along with iPod and cell phone taken from the family's personal effects as well as a beer from the refrigerator.

He was treated by Village Ambulance personnel and taken to North Adams Regional Hospital for injuries sustained in the accident.

3-2-1 Crashes in Williamstown

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. —  There were three motor vehicle accidents in town over the weekend, sending three people to North Adams Regional Hospital.

The first, at about 3:42 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14, involved three cars at the Adams Road and Main Street intersection, in front of the Colonial Shopping Center.

According to police, a 2003 Toyota Celica driven by Henry Farnham, 84, of Hancock, pulled out of Adams Road to head west on Main in front of an eastbound 2002 Buick Rendezvous being operated by Kenneth Dugal, 24, for the town of Florida.

The Buick struck the Celica in the driver's side door, spinning it into a 2008 Toyota Tacoma driven by Stephanie Goldberg-Luger, 19, of Minneapolis, who also was heading east.

Both the Celica and Buick were towed from the scene with moderate damage; Farnham and two passengers in the Tacoma were transported to the hospital with minor injuries. Farnham was cited for a state highway traffic violation.

Two hours later, police responded to a two-car crash at the intersection of Main and Cole Avenue in which both drivers were allegedly operating under the influence.

According to police, a 1998 Ford Ranger operated by Dennis St. Pierre, 50, of Williamstown, was turning left onto Cole Avenue from the eastbound lane of Main Street at about 5:34 when he was struck by in the passenger side by a westbound 2005 Buick LaCrosse.

The driver of the Buick, William Wheeler, 85, of Williamstown, was issued a criminal complaint for a first offense OUI; St. Pierre was arrested on a second offense OUI. Wheeler was also taken to NARH with neck and back pain.

Both vehicles suffered heavy front-end damage and were towed from the scene.

The third incident involved a single car and a deer. According to police, Amanda Burnham, 25, of Williamstown was northbound on Syndicate Road at about 7:18 a.m. on Sunday when she swerved to avoid a deer and lost control of her car.

The 2005 Hyundai she was operating struck a utility pole on the east side of the road. Burnham was not injured by the car was heavily damaged on the passenger side and had to be towed away.