GILEAD – A mother and daughter from New Hampshire were rushed to Stephens Memorial Hospital after their car left Route 2 and landed in a wooded gully Monday morning.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital, citing patient confidentiality laws, said she could not give out any information on the status of driver Vani N. Azzo, 47, and Annie M. Azzo, 18, both of Nashua, N.H.

Investigating Oxford County Deputy Chancey Libby said he thought Vani Azzo suffered a broken arm.

“It didn’t look good,” Libby added. He said her daughter, who was asleep in the back seat, fared better, suffering either a bump or scrape on her temple.

The family poodle, which didn’t appear to be injured, was transported to a veterinarian in Bethel by Bethel animal control officer Ozzie Hart.

Libby said the wreck occurred shortly before 8:25 a.m. as Vani Azzo was driving her daughter to an appointment at Gould Academy in Bethel in her 1994 Chrysler Century sedan.

“I wasn’t able to talk with the mother because she was being worked on by Bethel Rescue, but my guess is that the mom fell asleep because there was no sign of braking whatsoever,” Libby said at the scene. “A witness said they were going about 45 to 50 mph. When they came out of the turn, they just kept going straight.”

According to the witness, the Chrysler came out of a slight curve one mile west of the intersection of Routes 2 and 113, and hit a tree bordering the opposite lane.

The car than violently struck another tree, flattening it before falling down a 10-foot embankment, landing in a small gully between the road and railroad tracks that ran parallel to Route 2.

Safety belt use and an air bag, which was bloodied from the wreck, were credited by Libby for preventing serious injury. The car was totaled.

When Bethel rescue, Gilead firefighters, Libby and Oxford County Capt. James P. Miclon were sent to the wreck, they expected it to be more serious than it was.

“When I first got the call, they were supposedly going critical,” Libby said. That’s why a LifeFlight helicopter was summoned, but then called off when he arrived at the scene.

Gilead firefighter Susan Saunders said they, too, expected worse injuries.

“A passerby called it in and when we got here, it looked like nobody was moving. Those people were down over the embankment,” Saunders said.

Car parts and the hood, which had been ripped off, were lying underneath the fallen tree.

Traffic was held up in both directions for 20 minutes while a flatbed tow truck from Gaudreau’s Repair of Bethel worked to remove the crushed car.

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