Tracks in the snow on the southeast corner of the intersection of Root and North roads indicate where a pickup truck sailed over the guard rail and came to rest against the front steps of the house early Saturday morning. (Photo © 2013 Carl E. Hartdegen)
WESTFIELD – A guardrail installed in the front yard of a house at the intersection of North and Root roads to protect the dwelling from vehicles was not effective early Saturday morning when an out-of-control pickup truck flew over the barrier to strike the house.
No significant damage appeared to have been done to the dwelling.
City police reports that the resident called at 12:39 a.m. Saturday to report the crash.
Officer Zachary Demers responded to the accident and reports that a witness who came upon the crash moments after it occurred and stopped to offer assistance recorded the registration number of the truck before it fled the scene.
Demers discovered that the black 2003 GMC Sierra pickup truck had been eastbound on North Road and transited the four-way intersection without stopping and failed to negotiate the curve of the intersection.
He found that the pickup became airborne after it struck the snow bank on the southeast corner of the intersection, passing over and damaging the upper portion of the guardrail before striking the front steps of the house.
There is a distance of four/five feet on the inside of the guardrail where there are no tracks in the snow, presumably where the truck was airborne.
The truck appears to have damaged only the railing on the steps of the house.
The witness told Demers that the fleeing vehicle dropped a driveshaft which he recovered.
A dispatcher reports that when he spoke with the registered owner, an Agawam woman, by phone, she claimed to be operating the vehicle in Northampton while she was speaking and said she had not been involved in a crash.
The woman then hung up and further attempts to speak with her have not been successful.
The witness said that the operator he had seen was a male party.
A Granville resident, Nicholaas Vangelder, 19, subsequently came to the station and admitted responsibility for the crash.
