OSSIPEE — A multi-vehicle collision occurred on Route 16 near Clark’s Grain Store on Sept. 15 at 12:11 p.m., involving six vehicles and sixteen people, according to the Ossipee Police Department.
Officer Joseph Sanchez, who was on patrol at the time, was the first to arrive at the scene.
He called for support from Action Ambulance and Ossipee Corner Fire Department.
The response also included Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputy Jacob Beaudet and Ossipee Police Sergeant Joseph Oswalt due to the extent of the crash that stretched nearly a quarter mile.
The accident led to a partial closure of Route 16 for about 40 minutes.
When Fire and EMS personnel arrived, the incident was escalated to a Level 2 Mass Casualty Incident, a designation used to manage resources during large-scale emergencies.
The on-scene investigation suggested that the vehicles involved were all traveling northbound when the lead vehicle, for reasons still unknown, either slowed down or stopped, causing a chain-reaction collision.
The vehicles included a gray 2014 BMW SE 328 driven by Gabriel Vilela of Fall River, MA; a blue 2015 Honda Civic driven by Jaiden Baillergeon of Webster, MA; a gray 2017 Volkswagen Golf driven by Jacob Beard of Pittsfield, NH; a gray 2014 Honda Accord driven by Benjamin Fair of Sanbornton, NH; a black 2020 Honda Accord driven by Matthew Mannette of Peabody, MA; and a blue 2022 Hyundai Elantra driven by Bailey Defosie of Laconia, NH.
Two of the accident’s occupants were transported to Huggins Hospital with minor injuries.
Three vehicles were towed from the scene by Whiting’s Towing.
The Ossipee Police Department is reminding drivers to maintain safe following distances and is seeking additional information from the public regarding the crash.
