by John Osborn ·
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Corrected and updated Aug. 5, 2021, at 5 p.m.
A Wednesday morning crash involving two tractor trailer trucks in the northbound lanes of Interstate 495 two miles south of the Boxborough exit left one 18-wheeler teetering on the edge of the bridge over Stow Road in Harvard and the contents of the second strewn across the highway. Footage from TV helicopters hovering above the scene showed traffic backed up as far south as Marlborough.
The collision occurred around 6 a.m. A spokesperson for the state police told the Press Thursday that the drivers of both trucks had suffered minor injuries. One driver, a 51-year old from Etobicoke, Ontario, was transported to Nashoba Valley Medical Center for treatment and the other, a 41-year old from Atlanta, Georgia, to Lowell General Hospital. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Fire and ambulance crews from Boxborough, Harvard, and Bolton were dispatched to the scene immediately. The Harvard Engine 2 crew, led by Lt. Tony Shaw, was directed to the Stow Road underpass, where a piece of railing had fallen, and Engine 4 to I 495. Rickey’s Towing and Recovery of Leominster helped remove the damaged trucks from the road, a task that required use of the company’s rotator crane. Deputy Chief Chuck Nigzus, who led the Engine 4 crew, told the Press that although traffic never stopped, it took four hours to clean up the mess and open all three lanes. “It was very much a team effort,” he said, praising the response of Bolton, Boxborough, and State Police units, as well as Harvard’s Department of Public Works.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to report additional crash details.
(Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)