In spite of the two major snowstorms that hit Harvard during the period covered by this report, only two accidents were reported on town roads. Police stopped four motor vehicles, citing two for speeding and arresting one driver for operating under the influence of alcohol. The ambulance was called out four times, one of which required advanced life support services (ALS).
Tuesday, Feb. 3
At 10:55 a.m. police got a call to assist a driver stuck in snow on West Bare Hill Road, but by the time they arrived the car had been freed. A child playing with a phone accidentally dialed a 911 call at 11:57 a.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 4
At 9:19 a.m. the ambulance crew responded to a 911 call and transported a man who had been “behaving erratically” from Wellesley Therapeutics on Ayer Road to Emerson Hospital. The driver of a vehicle stuck in snow on Old Littleton Road called the police for assistance at 9:32 a.m., but the car was freed before an officer arrived. A Brown Road resident reported a case of identity theft to the police at 12:16 p.m. The incident is under investigation.
Thursday, Feb 5:
A motorist called at 9:08 a.m. to report having become stuck in a snowbank on Poor Farm Road. An officer responded and the vehicle was towed. A faulty phone line at Fruitlands Museum triggered a false 911 call at 10:23 a.m. At 2:04 p.m. the police and ambulance responded to a report that a vehicle headed out of town on Old Littleton Road had flipped and landed upside down next to the stream below Cross Street. Officers had to dig through snow to remove the female driver, who was then transported to Nashoba Valley Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. A crane operated by CBK was called to lift the car, a Camry sedan, from the streambed. (For photos of the vehicle and its retrieval, see the Harvard Police Department Facebook page.) A Woodchuck Hill resident called police at 3:16 p.m. to complain that plows had not cleared two lanes on her road.
Friday, Feb. 6
Police stopped and ticketed a car at 9:04 a.m. for driving 53 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone on Mass. Avenue near Whitney Lane. At 11:25 a.m. the police and fire departments investigated reports of a gas leak at the Harvard Professional Building on Ayer Road. The cause was a blocked vent on the building’s regulator, which had become covered with snow. Someone called 911 at 1:38 p.m. to report hearing a car panic alarm on Warren Avenue. When police investigated, they found that an elderly woman had become stuck in snow in her driveway and had set off the alarm to summon help. The car was towed free. At 10:19 p.m. police stopped and arrested Jillian O’Brien of Pepperell near the intersection of Ayer and Mill roads. She was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a vehicle, failure to stay within marked lanes, and driving without proper lights. Yet another snow-stuck driver called police at 10:30 p.m. to ask for help, but the car had been freed by the time an officer arrived.
Saturday, Feb. 7
At 10:50 a.m. the fire department investigated its second gas leak of the week, this time at the Harvard Public Library. Once again the cause proved to be a blocked vent on the building’s gas regulator. Police stopped and ticketed a car for speeding on Mass. Avenue at 12:13 p.m. At 12:52 p.m. police and fire personnel responded to an alarm at the Hildreth Elementary School. It is thought to have been set off by a teenager entering or leaving the building, but there are no suspects. Shortly before midnight, police asked the DPW to begin treating roads throughout town.
Sunday, Feb. 8
Police, fire, and ambulance personnel responded to the scene of a rollover in the eastbound lane of Route 2. The ambulance transported one of the car’s two occupants to Emerson Hospital.
Monday, Feb. 9
A Bolton Road resident called 911 at 12:19 p.m. to report a threat from someone who claimed to be holding a relative as a hostage for ransom. An officer investigated and determined that the threat was false. Police say it is a well-known scam. A 4:56 p.m. call sent the ambulance to the home of a South Shaker Road man who was complaining of chest pains. He was transported to Lowell General Hospital by the ambulance with ALS personnel on board.
