By Phoebe McPherson, Managing Editor
A female victim was pulled from a car submerged in Oyster River on Sunday evening. The victim was hospitalized with unknown injuries.
At approximately 5:06 p.m. on Sunday evening, a female victim was pulled from a Honda by three samaritans passing by before the car was completely submerged underwater.
The Durham Police Department and Durham Fire Department responded to an incident. The car was submerged in Oyster River off of Route 4.
Durham Police Sgt. Jack Dalton confirmed that the victim was a female and “not a student,” he said. The victim is believed to be older, but exact details are yet to be released.
She was transported to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover with unknown injuries.
There was no one else in the car with her.
According to Ford Klaeson of Smitty’s Garage and Towing Services, the driver was traveling westbound and came across the eastbound lane where the car came off the road and landed in Oyster River. The car’s final location was the opposite side of its entrance into the water and was backwards, facing Route 4 eastbound.
According to Klaeson, the car came in at high speed because, “all the airbags went off,” he said.
The Honda CR-V’s entire front end was smashed in, and significant salt-water damage was visible on the car.
The Durham Fire Department, Durham Police Department, McGregor Emergency Medical Team and Smitty’s Garage and Towing Services all tended to the scene. University of New Hampshire Police also responded, helping to block the road.
The section of Route 4 was closed off for about an hour, Sgt. Dalton said the scene had been cleared and traffic began to move through the scene again.
Little is known about how the crash occurred, if charges were filed, seat belt usage and if the driver was under the influence of substances. The investigation is ongoing.
