NORWOOD, Mass. — The driver of a tractor-trailer car carrier that barreled through a Norwood intersection and smashed into a car, injuring a young Walpole man, was cited for running a red light Wednesday afternoon.
Video from a nearby traffic camera shows the victim, driving a Toyota Corolla on Morse Street had a green light when the car carrier careened down a slight hill on Route 1, blew the red light and crashed into the back driver’s side of the vehicle, sending the car spinning.
The collision happened around 2:15 p.m.,
The 22-year-old victim told Boston 25 News he was being evaluated at the hospital Wednesday night for back and neck pain but said his injuries are not severe and he feels fortunate to be alive.
“I had a green light...he passed through the red light, and he came to hit me,” he explained in a brief phone conversation. “I am too lucky. I am too lucky.”
Witness Jon Ebb was feet away in his car when he saw the impact and rushed to help.
“Luckily his airbags came out, and he was okay. He was shaken up a little bit, but he was all right,” Ebb said. “It was a pretty scary situation.”
Because the driver of the car carrier did not immediately stop, police issued a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) alert, initially believing he had fled.
But investigators determined that 44-year-old man from Revere was not familiar with the area, and it took some time for him to turn around and return to the scene, Norwood Police Chief William Brooks said.
Brooks said the incident could have easily resulted in a worse outcome.
“Fortunately, but for, like, a half a second, if that car got broadsided, I think we would’ve had some very serious injuries on the driver’s side,” Brooks said. “And that wasn’t the case. What happened is it hit the vehicle on the rear quarter panel and spun it.”
Brooks said the incident is a lesson not only for drivers to pay attention to the road and not run red lights but also for people to look both ways before proceeding, even with a green light.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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