By Chris Cassidy
BOXFORD — A Newburyport woman was injured yesterday after her Maserati suddenly came to a stop on Interstate 95 and was rear-ended by a pickup truck, causing a five-mile backup during the start of a busy holiday weekend.
Dorothy Fairweather, 61, was listed in fair condition at Mass General Hospital as of 4 p.m. yesterday. She was traveling on Interstate 95 south in Boxford shortly after 8 a.m. when her 1989 Maserati stopped or became disabled in the left travel lane, according to state police.
That's when a GMC pickup truck driven by Donald Pydynkowski, 59, of Danvers rear-ended the Maserati, pushing it into the middle lane. The truck stopped in the median.
Fairweather was trapped inside the Maserati as it started leaking gasoline. Firefighters from Boxford and Topsfield raced to the scene and were able to pull her out of the wreck.
Lyons Ambulance whisked her to Beverly Hospital, according to state police. Fairweather was treated and transferred to Mass General Hospital around 1 p.m.
Pydynkowski had only minor injuries.
The crash happened just beyond I-95 Exit 51 — between the Endicott Road and Route 1 off-ramps — and caused a massive backup just as many drivers were hitting the road for a long Fourth of July weekend.
The entire Southbound side of the highway had to be shut down for 20 minutes as crews tried to extricate Fairweather from the car.
After that, only one lane remained open and motorists were jammed for about five miles — all the way to the Route 97 exit in Georgetown, state police said.
"The entire scene wasn't clear for an hour," Trooper Eric Benson said. "It resulted in a significant traffic backup."
Neither driver has been cited, though the crash is still under investigation.
No other passengers were inside the vehicles.
Staff writer Cate Lecuyer contributed to this report. Staff writer Chris Cassidy can be reached at ccassidy@salemnews.com.
