LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — A two-car crash closed the Mall Road for about two hours Thursday night and sent four to the hospital.

According to Police Officer Brad Lepicier, two sedans collided on what is officially known as the Route 7/8 Connector Road and one vehicle had caught on fire.

Bystanders pulled three people from the burning vehicle and they were transported to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield. The driver of the other vehicle, who was traveling eastbound, was also transported to the hospital.

"All four people were transported to the hospital," Lepicier said, later adding that "bystanders pulled three people out of the car that was on fire before I got there."

The extent of the injuries is not known at this time but initial scanner reports indicated the injuries were "serious."

On Thursday night, Lepicier said he had not determined a cause of the crash and is not yet releasing the names of those involved.

Police immediately closed the road after responding to the call at about 7:30 p.m. and Cheshire Police and State Police were stationed at each end: Cheshire near the Berkshire Mall and state police at the intersection of Route 7. Lanesborough Fire and Ambulance responded as did County Ambulance.

The road was reopened at about 9:30 p.m. The accident happened near the top of the long, steep Connector Road, which was recently rebuilt. Snow and ice during the day Thursday created dangerous conditions on many county roads. The Mall Road call was the second major accident Lanesborough Police responded to on Thursday. They were also called to assist Williamstown Police in response to a head-on collision on Route 7 earlier in the day.

UPDATED: Friday, Dec. 27 at 1:56 p.m.

Arlene Campoli, 72, of Cole Avenue, Pittsfield, has been identified as the passenger killed in Thursday's accident.. Campoli was the passenger in a 2010 Hyundai Elantra driven by Jill Greene, 53, also of Pittsfield.

Greene is currently in "critical condition" at Berkshire Medical Center.

Police say Greene's vehicle crossed into the southbound lane and crashed into the 2009 Buick Lucerne driven by 73-year-old Helen Munzer of Brookline. Munzer and her passenger, John Munzer, also of Brookline, are both listed in stable condition at Berkshire Medical Center.

Police say road conditions "appear to be a principal contributing factor to the crash."

Both vehicles were removed from the scene by Dean's Quality Auto in North Adams.

A two-car accident has closed Route 7; police are warning of slippery roads.

Update 9:10 p.m.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A two-car accident Thursday morning killed one and sent three others to the hospital with serious injuries.

Police have not released the name of the woman passenger killed in the crash pending notification of family; they are also withholding the names of the three others currently at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.

A 2009 Buick and a 2010 Hyundai were heavily damaged in the crash that occurred about 10:21 a.m. on New Ashford Road about a mile south of the Store at Five Corners.

Each car had a driver and one passenger; firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate both occupants from one of the cars.

All four were taken to BMC and the female passenger of the Hyundai was transferred to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where she died from injuries sustained in the crash, said Sgt. Scott McGowan.

It was snowing at the time of the crash and police warned of slick roads. New Ashford Road was closed from 10:21 a.m. until 4:45 p.m.

The investigation to determine the cause of the crash is under way by Williamstown and state police. Williamstown Police and Fire responded to the scene, along with Village Ambulance, North Adams Police and Ambulance Service, Lanesborough Police and state police and the State Police Collision Analysis & Reconstruction Section and Crime Scene Services Unit.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Local and state police were on the scene of a two-car accident on U.S. Route 7 about a mile south of the Five Corners on Thursday morning.

At 11:30, a Williamstown firefighter on the scene advised motorists queued up in the southbound lane that the road would be closed for at least two more hours.

Police at the scene reported that at least four occupants — two from each vehicle — were transported to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield. No information was available about their injuries.

Both cars sustained heavy front-end damage.

North Adams police assisted at the scene by helping keep southbound motorists from proceeding through the Five Corners intersection of Routes 7 and 43.

Officials at the scene advised that roads are very slick and recommended people stay off the road ore use extreme caution.

The region was expected to get an inch or more of snow through the day. Snow has been falling since earlier in the morning.

A massive blaze destroyed a building on Temple Street in Adams early Saturday.

Update: 2:45 p.m., Dec. 22:

One side of the building was occupied by the Palumbo family: Bruce and Brenda Palumbo lived in the downstairs apartment and their daughter Haley and her boyfriend, Mike, lived above them. Friends say Haley got everyone out of the house but her parents lost everything and she lost almost all of her things.

The family is also dealing with medical issues after Brenda Palumbo was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield later on Saturday after reportedly suffering a heart attack.

Haley Palumbo's best friend Kyla Cabana has started a fund drive for the Palumbos.

"They are amazing nice people and would do anything for anyone," Cabana wrote in an email message.

Cabana has set a goal of $5,000; by Sunday afternoon, more than $1,700 had been raised. AP Home Decor & More in North Adams is also accepting small cash donations for the Palumbos.

ADAMS, Mass. — Firefighters from four communities fought a massive early morning blaze that destroyed an apartment building on Temple Street early Saturday morning.

"The fire had a good hold on arrival and it was a team effort by all departments in order to get this under control," said Fire Chief Paul Goyette. "But the bottom line is no firefighters got hurt."

One of the tenants was taken to the hospital for a rapid heartbeat.

Cheshire, Clarksburg and Lanesborough fire companies joined Adams firefighters in attacking the blaze that tore through all four of the apartments in the building before burning into the attic.

"Once it went right through the roof, I pulled all of firefighters out of the building," Goyette said, for safety reasons.

The chief said the structure at 18 Temple St. was built in the 1800s and, like many buildings of that era, has a balloon construction frame that helped the fire spread.

The middle of the building was gutted and roof caved in between the attic dormers.

"I called it under control at 6:28 a.m. and we maintained a fire watch until 2 p.m. this afternoon," Goyette said.

The fire started in an external storage area near the rear basement level. The state fire marshal responded to the scene; it is under investigation and the cause has not been determined, said Goyette.

It will be up to building inspection and the compliance officer to determine if the structure will have to come down. The building is owned by James and Claire Adams, according to documents on file with Registry of Deeds.

Adams Ambulance and North Adams Ambulance services both responded to the scene. North Adams Fire Department covered the Adams station.

Goyette said only one call reporting a structure fire came in and it was not known if it was a tenant who alerted emergency services. He believed there were five people living in three of the four apartments, all of whom were outside the building when the Fire Department arrived. They were being taken in by relatives and friends and some of their personal items were recovered.

"It's a terrible thing to happen just before the holidays," he said.

A fundraiser has been started for some of the residents who were forced out their homes and lost so much just days before Christmas. Donations for the Palumbo family can be made here.

A motorist collided with the back of a flatbed on Church Street, one of a half-dozen accidents on Tuesday afternoon.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The light snow that fell over the city on Tuesday afternoon resulted in a half-dozen motor vehicle accidents in less than an hour, according to police.

Within minutes, officers and firefighters responded to a car in ditch off West Shaft Road near the Zavattaro Athletic Complex in which an occupant in the car needed help in getting out, a single-car accident by Brown Street, a car into a flatbed truck on Church Street near the Berkshire Tower dormitories and a two-vehicle collision near Walmart.  

Police used their Facebook page to remind motorists to drive carefully.

"As the winter progresses, allow yourselves a little bit of extra time to get where you are going. Take a look at your tires and if they are getting low on tread depth, don't risk driving in the snow. It's just not worth it. The amount of money spent on damage to your vehicle, or injuries sustained as a result of an accident, will far surpass what it would cost to get new tires. Have a good day everyone!"

Cases heard on Tuesday, November 26.

Daniel Lowenstein, 23, of Amherst was sentenced to three years at the Berkshire County House of Correction after being found guilty of numerous charges on Nov. 21.

Lowenstein was found guilty by a jury on three counts of distribution of marijuana and single counts of possession of a sawed-off shotgun, possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

He was give two years on the possession of a sawed-off shotgun and given an additional sentenced on a single count of distribution of marijuana. He was placed on two years probation on the possession of a firearm with defaced serial number and concurrent time of the other charges.

Lowenstein sold marijuana to an undercover police officer in Great Barrington on February 23, 2013, March 2, 2013 and March 9, 2013 and in possession of the drug with intent to sell it on March 9, 2013. The other charges occurred in Great Barrington on March 9, 2013.

Cases heard before Judge Daniel Ford on Tuesday, December 3.

Christopher Maschino, 22, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on three counts of breaking and entering in the daytime with intent to commit a felony and three counts of larceny in a building.

The charges stem from a series of house breaks in Lanesborough between February 22, 2013 and March 12, 2013. He was released on personal recognizance but is currently being held on bail on other charges.

Cases heard before Judge Daniel Ford on Thursday, December 5.

Barton Jones, 32, of Troy, N.Y. had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of armed robbery, assault by means of a dangerous weapon and assault and battery.

The charges are in connection with an incident involving a 28-year-old man in North Adams on January 10, 2013.

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $75,000 cash or $750,000 surety bail.