It’s the second time in less than a month that a Southborough Police Officer was a victim of a car crash on Route 9. And once again, Chief Kenneth Paulhus is sharing that while he’s upset for his officer, he also feels lucky it wasn’t worse.
Southborough Wicked Local reports that an Ashland driver suffered a serious head injury in the crash with Officer John Woodford.
This afternoon, Chief Kenneth Paulhus was relieved to say that Officer Woodford wasn’t seriously injured. (He is sore today, but expected to return to duty next week.) He also stated that the other driver’s injuries didn’t appear to be life threatening.
Paulhus was also eager to share some important details missing from the SWL article about Woodford’s involvement in the incident.
According to Paulhus, Woodford was escorting Mass Department of Transportation vehicles at the time of the accident.
The cruiser was stopped behind the DOT vehicles, in the far right lane, with emergency lights on when it was struck.
The investigation has been turned over to Mass State Police’s accident reconstruction unit.
I have read that the LED light bars now commonly used atop police vehicles are blindingly bright, sometimes causing drivers to lose control of their vehicles. Perhaps that’s what is happening here.
The first one was a drunk driver. At the rate we are going we are going to need several new police cars. Hopefully the other person’s insurance covers that and we pursue it.
Look at the bright side……at the rate they are going, they won’t need any next at Town Meeting next year. On a more serious note…….whether they are drunk or distracted, there has been an increase of accidents on the roads, police or otherwise. Too many people are doing too many things while they are driving, and not paying attention. We should be thankful the cruisers are taking the brunt of the damage. They can be replaced, the officers cannot.
Amen, I’ll take twisted and bent metal any day.
Richard, my husband and I were just discussing that we wish there was a dimmer setting for those lights! We passed by the blinding blue lights on rt 9 during one of the many construction nights successfully, but think you may have a strong point there! More is not always better and we definitely thought that it affected our unimpaired visibility.
I agree those LED bar lights way too bright at night especially when coming from an area that is relatively dark. The lights are very blinding and disorienting. And when there is more than one cruiser in the same proximity it is even worse. It’s no wonder construction workers and cruisers are being struck. Add a little liquor to the mix and you have an accident waiting to happen. There are times when more and brighter is not always necessary and safer. I agree with Anna, they should have a dimmer setting at night!
Having worked in the industry, the new LED light bars do in fact have a “Hi/Lo” toggle that does allow the bars to be dimmed… at least on our cruisers. However, it is Officer initiated.