BURLINGTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A man suffered serious facial injuries and three other people, including two young children, were rushed to the hospital after a chunk of ice flew off of a commercial truck and crashed through their windshield on Thursday.
Troopers responding to a reported incident involving ice that flew off of a truck on Route 3 northbound in Burlington about 11 a.m. determined that a large piece of ice had flown off the roof of a box truck and smashed through the windshield of a 2019 Dodge 1500 pickup truck driven by a 40-year-old Newton man who had his 38-year-old wife in the front passenger seat and his kids, ages 3 and 1 ½, in the back, according to state police.
“It shattered the windshield and it actually broke the windshield,” Burlington Fire Chief Michael Patterson said. “There were large chunks of ice inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle.”
The man was taken by ambulance to Mass. General Hospital in Boston with non-life-threatening facial injuries. The woman was taken to the same hospital to be treated for minor injuries.
“He was very lucky that they were non-life-threatening injuries,” Patterson said. “This certainly could have been a lot worse than it was.”
The 3-year-old boy suffered minor injuries and the little girl was not injured but transported as a precaution.
With the assistance of a witness who followed the box truck, state police were able to stop the driver in Chelmsford and determined it was owned by Diggins & Rose Moving Systems out of Hudson, New Hampshire, which is an agent of United Van Lines.
“It’s very dangerous when people do not clear the roofs, whether it’s a personal vehicle or a large 18-wheel truck,” Patterson added.
The driver, a 55-year-old man from Litchfield, New Hampshire, was cooperative with police, said he didn’t know there was ice on the roof of his truck, and was issued warnings for having an unsecured load and impeded operation.
7News received a statement from Diggins & Roads that reads in part: “Safety is of the upmost importance to us, and we will continue to monitor this situation as it evolves.”
The incident remains under investigation.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7News for updates online and on-air.
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