3 Injured After Ambulance, Car Collide In Nashua, N.H.

NASHUA, N.H. --

An ambulance transporting a patient to a hospital collided with a car in Nashua late Sunday morning, police said.

Nashua police shut down Amherst Street in both directions at the Exit 7E off-ramp from the northbound Everett Turnpike shortly before 11:30 a.m. The police investigation also prompted the closure of the exit ramp.

Both closures remained in effect for about six hours. By 6 p.m., the westbound lanes were open, but police continued to work on the eastbound lanes.

Investigators said a Milford Ambulance en route to Southern New Hampshire Medical Center was traveling eastbound on Amherst Street with its lights and siren activated when a car pulled out from the exit ramp toward the Henri Burque Highway.

The ambulance attendants suffered minor injuries in the crash and were treated at SNHMC and released. The driver of the car, identified as Joseph Aucoin, of Nashua, was also taken for SNHMC for serious injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

The patient in the ambulance was taken to the Lahey Clinic in Massachusetts for treatment of an ailment unrelated to the crash.

Witnesses told News 9 that the car continued to coast down Amherst Street for at least 100 yards before hitting a curb and stopping on the sidewalk.

"We were shocked, and we thought somebody (got) hit broadside. The airbag deploys, but the car kept rolling down the street. (We) didn't know what happened," said Jeanne Dougherty, a witness.

The crash remains under investigation by the Nashua Police Department Accident Reconstruction Unit.

"We'd like to find out what his perspective was during collision -- whether he had a green light, or was he aware of the ambulance?" Nashua police Lt. John Fisher said of the car's driver.

Anyone that witnessed the crash is asked to call the Nashua Police Department by dialing

603-594-3500

.

Crash Closes Street, Exit Ramp In Nashua-71.4912128448486342.7760151471000316