SALEM - A local teen was flown to a Boston hospital after suffering serious injuries following a single-car wreck last night on a stretch of road long known by neighbors who live there for its high speeds and crash scenes.
The 18-year-old man from Salem was driving a Saturn sedan on Route 114 toward Marblehead when the vehicle struck a telephone pole in front of 450 Lafayette St.
The driver was unconscious when firefighters and Salem police arrived on scene, said Salem fire Lt. William Bresnahan.
Firefighters from the ladder truck used vehicular extraction tools to cut off the roof and part of the door in order to remove the driver, who was not identified by police last night.
The driver was taken to Salem Hospital by Northshore Ambulance and later flown by helicopter to a Boston hospital following the crash at 9:30 p.m.
The single passenger, who neighbors said was the driver's brother, was able to get out of the vehicle when firefighters arrived. Bresnahan said the passenger was transported to Salem Hospital also, but his injuries were not considered serious.
Diane Hamlen and her husband, Francis Riggieri, were inside their home at the time of the crash.
"I was in bed, and I heard a screech and I jumped out of bed and dialed 911 even before I came out to see what happened," Riggieri said.
The couple said they knew how bad the accident was by the sound of the crash and the screech of the tires, one of which was removed from the car by the accident.
Riggieri said he's complained many times to the mayor, the City Council and the police about the speeders constantly flying by his home on a stretch of road past Salem State College and near the Marblehead line known as "Dead Man's Curve."
"I lobbied constantly and constantly, and we get nothing," Riggieri shouted.
Hamlen said the city recently painted a white strip on the right-hand side of the road, which acts as a guide for motorists to handle the curves more slowly. But they want a permanent radar detector to warn drivers when they are surpassing the 30 mph speed limit.
"They go way too fast here," said Dave Read who lives at 445 Lafayette St.
The area has been the sight of numerous accidents, and Read and Bresnahan could share stories of some of the biggest ones, including a crash four years ago on St. Patrick's Day when a box truck went airborne over the span of two houses before striking the front porch.
While neighbors believe speed was the cause of the accident, police want to have their investigation to show them what happened first.
Salem police and the Massachusetts State Police accident reconstruction unit are investigating the crash.
"It's premature to make an assumption without allowing investigators to complete their investigation into the cause of the accident," Salem police Lt. Paul Lemelin said.
