SalemNews.com, Salem, MA

Local News

Related Photos

  • A Massachusetts state trooper helps an elderly woman across Route 128 north in Beverly yesterday afternoon after she drove down the wrong ramp. Alan Burke

    5471835SN.jpg

Discussion

The Salem News has a real-name policy for commenting. Users may sign in using the Facebook Connect tool above the comments field. Once your first comment is posted by a moderator, all future comments will post automatically. If you prefer not to use Facebook, send an e-mail with your comments user name (which must be the same as your real name), city or town, street address and daytime phone number to comments@salemnews.com. A staff member will contact you directly to confirm your identity. It may take a day or two before you can post comments. Only your user name will be public. All users are required to follow our rules for commenting, which can be found here.

comments powered by Disqus
February 2, 2012

Trooper, bystander aid wrong-way driver

By Alan Burke Staff Writer

BEVERLY — A state police trooper and a good Samaritan came to the aid of a stunned wrong-way driver on Route 128 yesterday afternoon.

The driver was misled by the confusing off- and on-ramps that precede the turn onto Dunham Road on Brimbal Avenue. Rather than head onto Dunham, she mistakenly took the off-ramp and soon found herself speeding into the teeth of the southbound traffic on Route 128.

The woman swerved onto the thin grass median strip in the middle of the highway, a strip that is divided by a fence.

Sensing she needed help, Kristen Ferragamo, who had been traveling south, stopped her van in the breakdown lane and, waiting for a gap in the traffic, raced across the road and got in the car, keeping the driver calm until police arrived.

Meanwhile, a number of bystanders called for help. State Trooper Robert Marquis managed to stop his cruiser in front of the wayward vehicle. He escorted both women to safety.

It was at this point that drivers heading south, apparently realizing the situation, stopped of their own accord and waited patiently until the women crossed the highway and Marquis safely turned around the wrong-way car and moved his cruiser.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News

North Shore News Updates on Twitter
Stories Shared on Facebook
AP Video
Raw Video: Hail Storm Batters Oklahoma City California's Foie Gras Ban About to Begin 6-Year-Old Going to National Spelling Bee Video Essay: Funky Winkerbean Comic Turns 40 On Thailand Trip, Suu Kyi Visits Migrants Raw Video: Pink Diamond Auctioned for $17.4M Hurricane Andrew Remembered, 20 Years Later Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report 15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108 Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Comments Tracker