TOPSFIELD — Air bags and seat belts helped three drivers involved in a head-on crash on Route 1 yesterday escape serious injuries, police said.
Two drivers were taken by ambulance to Beverly Hospital to be evaluated, and the third driver required no treatment.
The three-vehicle crash happened at 3:14 p.m. in front of the Topsfield Highway Department.
The crash shut down Route 1 for 50 minutes.
"There's a lot of traffic on Route 1; we're lucky only three cars were involved," police Sgt. Richard LeBel said.
Police blamed the crash on 17-year-old Tristan Hackett of 232 Argilla Road, Ipswich, who told authorities he dozed off at the wheel.
LeBel said Hackett, who was heading south in a 1999 Volvo wagon, crossed the center line and struck a 2004 Ford minivan driven by Thomas Roach, 49, of Ipswich, head-on.
Police said Hackett's vehicle then struck another vehicle behind the minivan, a Saab driven by Scott Coulombe, 35, of Auburn, Maine, also head-on.
Hackett and Roach were taken by the Middleton Fire Department ambulance to Beverly Hospital.
All three cars were towed from the scene and were most likely totaled, LeBel said.
LeBel said Hackett will be cited for a marked-lanes violation.
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