A red Suburu Forester collided head on with a blue Suburu Outback on Route 2 in Shelburne near the school bus garage Tuesday afternoon, sending two people to area hospitals. A tractor trailer truck was also involved, with one of the vehicles hitting the rear wheels of the trailer after the initial impact.
A red Suburu Forester collided head on with a blue Suburu Outback on Route 2 in Shelburne near the school bus garage Tuesday afternoon, sending two people to area hospitals. A tractor trailer truck was also involved, with one of the vehicles hitting the rear wheels of the trailer after the initial impact. Credit: STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

SHELBURNE — Two people were taken to hospital after a three-car head-collision on Route 2 Tuesday around 2 p.m. 

Two people were transported to the Baystate Franklin Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. One person was subsequently transported via helicopter to Springfield Baystate Medical Center as a lower leg injury required a higher level of care, Shelburne Patrol Officer Tucker Jenkins said. 

The accident, occurring on a stretch of highway connecting Greenfield and Shelburne, involved a tractor trailer and two Subaru cars.

The cars sustained significant damage, Shelburne Deputy Fire Chief Jim Burnham said. However, the truck did not appear to sustain any significant damage.

“Based on the damage to the cars, I would have expected more serious injuries,” Burnham said. 

Burnham attributed the passengers’ relative safety to their fastened seatbelts and car airbags.

“Local people don’t realize that probably the most dangerous thing you do every day is drive from Shelburne Falls to Greenfield,” Burnham said. That stretch of Route 2 is especially dangerous, Burnham said, as people drive “60 miles an hour, five feet away from each other.” 

The Shelburne Police Department is investigating the accident, Jenkins said.

Reach Grace Bird at gbird@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280.