METHUEN, MASS. (WHDH) - A 20-year-old driver rammed into a gas pump following a two-car crash in Methuen on Sunday morning.
Carolina Gonzales and her friend were driving in the area of Green and Haverhill streets when they collided with another car around 7:30 a.m., sending Gonzales’ vehicle into the Mobil gas station, Police Capt. Kristopher McCarthy said.
“It appears one of the vehicles ran the red light and struck the other vehicle,” he added. “That is still under investigation at this point.”
Gonazales, who claims she was the one who was hit, described to 7News the terrifying moment when her car slammed into the gas pump.
“To end up in the gas station, that’s scary because we were all the way in the road, while the whole gas station is in the corner,” she explained.
Gonazales added that she is grateful that she and her friend were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.
“I get in the car, I’m gonna put on my seat belt, you’re gonna put on your seat belt,” she said. “If she didn’t have her seat belt or if I didn’t have my seat belt, we would have gone through the windshield or something because it was bad.”
The gas station owner, who did not want to talk on camera, is commending the teen employee working at the time for his quick actions.
He says the high school student immediately pushed the emergency stop for the pumps, called 911 and went to help the driver and her passenger.
McCarthy says it could have been a lot worse.
“Thank God it was a Sunday morning at 7:30 in the morning,” he said. “That is a busy intersection, very busy for children to be walking, the plaza is right there, so it could have been a lot worse.”
The intersection was temporarily closed while crews worked to clear the scene of hazards.
Methuen police say they are continuing to look for surveillance video of the collision as their investigation is ongoing.
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