NRPD Officers are handling a single car crash which resulted in a roll over in the area of 241 Park Street. Traffic is being temporarily detoured. No injuries reported.
Update: Officers identified that the operator of the vehicle had fallen asleep at the wheel after working a night shift which resulted in him driving off the roadway, hitting a tree, and flipping into the air and landing on its roof.
The operator was cited by police and the MA DOT RMV was notified for administrative action.
In this case the operator was extremely lucky to have avoided injury. The operator was dangerously close to striking several trees, head on. The operator could have easily drifted into the oncoming traffic lane or collided with an unsuspecting pedestrian with tragic results.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “Drowsy driving causes more than 100,000 crashes a year, resulting in 40,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths. As tragic as these numbers are, they only tell a portion of the story. It is widely recognized that drowsy driving is underreported as a cause of crashes. And this doesn’t include incidents caused by driver inattention. ”
Please remember that drowsy driving is dangerous and that the results can be as tragic and costly as driving under the influence of alcohol. Please visit the following sites for more information;
NHSTA Research on Drowsy Driving