BETHEL – A Bethel man was injured Thursday morning after crashing twice in front of a Bethel police officer who was going home after work.
David Salway, 62, suffered facial cuts and a badly lacerated hand, said Sgt. S.R. White.
Salway was taken by Bethel Rescue to Stephens Memorial Hospital, where he was admitted for observation, a nursing supervisor said early Thursday evening.
The wreck occurred at 9:57 a.m. at 333 Songo Pond Road.
White said that Salway apparently passed out, possibly from a medical condition, while driving a 1989 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
“He struck a tree head-on, then the vehicle bounced up in the air and came down facing the opposite direction, spun out and headed away from the tree at full throttle toward me,” White said.
But instead of hitting White’s car, the Jeep then swerved wildly, fishtailing back and forth before crashing into a snowbank and becoming stuck, he said.
“The engine was screaming at full rev and smoke was coming up from the tires that were just burning rubber. It left a stack of rubber on the road,” White said.
White said that he entered the Jeep through the passenger’s side and shut off the engine.
The Jeep’s air bags deployed in the first collision, but didn’t protect the driver when the vehicle hit the snowbank, he said.
The totaled Jeep was towed by Gaudreau’s Repairs. Also assisting was Bethel Police Chief Alan Carr.
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