WESTWOOD, Mass. (AP) – A driver on Route 128 was seriously injured Friday when he was struck by a storm drain cover that flew through the windshield of his car, state police said.

The accident occurred about 5:30 a.m. while Pawel Swierczynski, 39, of North Easton was driving a Toyota Corolla north in a construction zone near the University Avenue exit in Westwood.

The dislodged storm drain cover smashed through the car’s front windshield, hitting Swierczynski and causing him to careen into a median before stopping in the left lane. In the past week, dislodged covers were reported in the area one or two times, including an incident that caused a minor accident, state police Sgt. Mike Rafferty said. But the dislodged covers never went airborne. he said.

State police were investigating why the drains became loose and why one flew through the air.

The northbound lanes of the highway were closed for about an hour while a medical helicopter landed to take Swierczynski to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, police said. Swierczynski was in critical but stable condition late Friday morning, police said.

Traffic backed up for miles for much of the day as some lanes remained closed.

Work crews re-secured the drains and state highway engineers inspected them before all lanes on Route 128 northbound were reopened by 7 p.m., the Massachusetts Highway Department said.

AP-ES-07-27-07 1935EDT

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