Icy Conditions Cause Cruiser Crash, Close Road

A quick freezeover on the roads at sunset on Saturday led to several car crashes – including one involving a police cruiser – and closed two small stretches of road for a time.

The first was a multiple vehicle crash on Route 1 northbound on the bridge over Route 95 headed in to the Ferncroft Rotary at about 4:15 p.m. Complete details on the number of vehicles that were involved and injuries were not available on Saturday night, but at one point police took a report that 12 cars were involved and three people suffered minor injuries.

While responding to the crash, a State Police cruiser was involved in a crash, said State Police spokesman David Procopio. The trooper was not injured.

The driver of the other car that was in the crash - an adult woman – was injured and taken by ambulance to Salem Hospital.

“At this time, her injuries appear to minor in nature,” Procopio said, adding that the crash is under investigation.

That’s when Route 1 northbound was closed down between Route 62 and the Ferncroft rotary because of the icy road. Police waited for state Department of Transportation crews to move through and treat the road.

At 5:40 p.m., Route 1 was reopened, Procopio said.

But then at about 6:05 p.m. another crash occurred on Route 95 southbound before the Centre Street exit. That crash, involving three vehicles, was also believed to be weather-related.

In that instance, State Police closed the road there.

“Mass DOT treated the roadway and we reopened the southbound side about a half hour later,” Procopio said.