3 HOSPITALIZED IN MECKLENBURG ROAD CRASH BETWEEN A PICKUP TRUCK AND A GARBAGE TRUCK IN ENFIELD, NEW YORK

3 HOSPITALIZED IN MECKLENBURG ROAD CRASH BETWEEN A PICKUP TRUCK AND A GARBAGE TRUCK IN ENFIELD, NEW YORK

 

January 28, 2015

 Enfield, New York

 Three people were hospitalized, two in serious condition, following a two-vehicle accident just east of 1550 Mecklenburg Road, Route 79, Wednesday morning in Enfield (west of Ithaca).

A pickup truck headed east on Route 79 around 8:20 a.m. struck the left rear corner of a Casella Waste Systems garbage truck, according to Enfield Volunteer Fire Department Chief Roger Lauper. There were three occupants in the pickup truck.

Two adults were flown by helicopters to Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, Pennsylvania, and a boy under age 13 was taken by ambulance to Cayuga Medical Center, New York State Police said.

A woman was trapped in the front passenger seat of the pickup, and parts of the truck had to be cut away to free her, Lauper said. At the time of the accident, the driver of the truck was out of the vehicle loading cans into the truck when it moved forward three feet, and the driver realized that something had hit the back of the truck, Lauper said.

After the accident the garbage truck partially block the eastbound lane of Route 79 and the pickup truck was off the north side of the road facing the road. There were red and orange flashing lights active on the rear of the garbage truck as police gathered evidence at the scene.

The pickup truck sustained heavy front-end damage, concentrated on the passenger side. Debris was in the road near the left-rear corner of the garbage truck.

Route 79 was closed between Sheffield and Van Dorn roads until around 2 p.m. as New York State Police investigated the accident.

Bangs Ambulance, Ithaca Fire Department and Enfield Fire Department, Tompkins County Sheriff's Office and New York State Police were called to the scene, according to a dispatcher.

No names have been released by police.