Weekend crashes send three to area hospitals

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November 17, 2009

By Jonathan L'Ecuyer The Gloucester Daily Times Tue Nov 17, 2009, 05:50 AM EST

ROCKPORT — A pair of weekend car crashes just hours apart sent three people to area hospitals — and have led to charges against two drivers.

John Williamson, 21, of 704 Sandy Bay Terrace, was allegedly speeding on the Nugent Stretch section of Main Street shortly after 12:30 p.m. Saturday when he lost control of his friend's 1993 Chevrolet Camaro, slid into a rock wall — snapping both driver's side axles — and flipped three times before finally coming to rest upside down in the woods.

Williamson was charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle and speeding, according to police.

Neither Williamson nor Adam Lucas Dakota Hoenack, 20, were thrown from the vehicle despite not wearing their seat belts, said Fire Chief Jim Doyle. They escaped from the wreckage and were sitting on the nearby rock wall when emergency crews arrived on scene.

Both men were transported to Beverly Hospital with minor injuries, Doyle added. The men were treated and released Saturday.

The cherry red Camaro Z28, which Hoenack had listed for sale on Craigslist prior the crash, is now listed for sale for parts only. The car was towed upside down over the rock wall and out of the woods by Tally's.

Shortly after emergency officials were cleared from the Nugent Stretch crash, police then received a 911 call just after 4 p.m., reporting a car crashed into a pole on Thatcher Road.

In that case, Wendy Betts, 63, of 13 Penzance Road, reportedly fell asleep at the wheel, drove over a mailbox and fire hydrant, then came to a halt after hitting a utility pole, police said. Betts was charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle, according to police reports.

Betts, the choral director for Cape Ann Singers and director of Share the Music, a North Shore singing group, was transported to Addison Gilbert Hospital, from which she was treated and then released.

Unlike newer fire hydrants designed to shut off automatically when such damage occurs, the old hydrant on Thatcher Road had to be switched off manually, and a stream of water gushed from the uncapped hydrant until Public Works crews arrived to shut off the water, Doyle said.

According to Public Works officials, repairs will be completed on the hydrant by tomorrow or Thursday.

Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at 978-283-7000 x 3451 or jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.