By Ethan Forman
DANVERS — A Salem woman escaped serious injury when a tractor-trailer getting off Interstate 95 north onto Route 114 east collided with her small sport utility vehicle, causing it to roll over yesterday at 11 a.m.
After colliding with her 2000 Chevrolet Tracker, the truck clipped the rear of a Lexus sedan, the driver of the Lexus said.
The Tracker's driver, Isabel Quiroz, 25, suffered minor injuries and was taken to Beverly Hospital, state police spokesman Sgt. Michael Popovics said.
Hospital spokeswoman Heather Jones said Quiroz was not listed as a patient at the hospital yesterday afternoon.
"Thank God she had her seat belt on," said Gregory Klemmer, 50, of Needham, the driver of the black 2007 Lexus that was also hit in the accident.
Danvers Sgt. Richard Stoney said it appeared the woman hit her head, but that her injuries were not life-threatening.
The driver of the 1997 Freightliner, David Avila, 36, of Jersey City, N.J., was not injured in the crash, Popovics said. Klemmer also escaped injuries. The tractor hailed from Jaspi Transport of Monroe Township, N.J.
State police were investigating, and Popovics could not say if any charges would be filed.
The crash left the Tracker facing the wrong way on the highway as it sat in the shoulder of the road next to the truck. The Lexus sat off the road on a snowbank.
Klemmer said seeing the Tracker roll over "was like out of a movie." He added he stopped at a stop sign at the end of the ramp onto Route 114 when the tractor-trailer "came flying off my left side." The truck did not stop but hit the Tracker, and "flipped her several times," Klemmer said.
As the truck tried to avoid the Tracker, it cut right and hit Klemmer's car, which looked as if something had taken a bite out of the rear driver's side quarter panel. The Tracker's driver's-side roof and windshield appeared to have buckled. Klemmer said he went to Quiroz's aid, and she seemed to be shaken up but OK.
As crews and tow companies worked to clear the scene, traffic was able to get by the accident with one lane open in the eastbound direction. At one point, as the scene was being cleared, a state trooper could be seen carrying a machete, apparently retrieved from one of the vehicles.
Both Danvers and state police responded, but state police were handling the investigation because the agency was better equipped to investigate truck accidents, Stoney said.
Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or eforman@salemnews.com.
