RUMFORD — A woman escaped injury in a one-car accident on South Rumford Road on Tuesday morning.

Venus Rich, 22, of Rumford, was headed west on when her vehicle veered off a curve near the home of Norman Beaudet.

Beaudet was across the road from his house loading firewood into a truck when Rich’s Pontiac Sunfire zoomed past him, he said.

“My dog was with me and I heard squealing tires,” he said. “That’s when she came in backward and she hit that little stump there.”

Beaudet said the stump deflected her vehicle enough so she avoided hitting the side of his truck. He said Rich’s vehicle then went backward into a tree. 

“If it wasn’t for that stump she probably would have hit my truck,” he said. “But I was ready to run.”

Rumford police officer Mike Belanger said speed, glare and sand on the road were all possible factors in the crash.

“She was moving,” Beaudet said. “They all move around here and they have pretty good curves on the road and drivers always hug the inside.”

Rich was not injured but her car was wrecked.

Rumford Fire Department and Med-Care Ambulance responded to the scene.

Firefighters had to use a tool to remove a cable that was embedded in the back of the car. The cable was attached to a telephone pole less than 20 feet from the tree.

“She’s lucky. It could have been a lot worse,” Beaudet said.

ecox@sunjournal.com

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