GREENFIELD — A head-on collision shut down traffic on the Route 2 bypass near Bernardston Road for a few hours Thursday afternoon and sent two people to the hospital.
“It was quite a significant head-on collision. There were significant injuries,” Greenfield Police Lt. Joseph Burge said. “We’re not going to release the names right now, as it’s still under investigation.”
Burge said one vehicle was going the wrong way, but he wasn’t able to say why because of the ongoing investigation. A post on the department’s Facebook says “witnesses reported a red Chevrolet was operating the wrong way on the off-ramp prior to colliding with a white van.”
The person who caused the crash was an elderly woman, state police said.
Of the two drivers involved, the person driving the Chevrolet “had to be cut out and extricated, and was transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield with serious injuries,” said Greenfield Fire Lt. Andrew Eisch, noting, “they requested LifeFlight, but due to the weather conditions, it was unavailable.”
Baystate was selected because of the hospital’s trauma capabilities, Eisch said. The van’s driver was also taken to the hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
The crash happened around 12:30 p.m., according to the Facebook post.
About 10 minutes later, a police car was seen idling at the Adams Road intersection, blocking a section of the westbound lane connecting Interstate 91 and the French King Highway.
Not far from where Route 2 merges from two highways into one road, emergency crews, including local police and fire departments and at least one ambulance, could be seen working around at least one vehicle.
By 2:40 p.m., the westbound lane had been cleared and reopened.
State police said they were not initially involved in the emergency response. Firefighters brought a heavy rescue truck, an engine and other vehicles.
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