WESTFIELD –An Athol man, John S. Robertson Jr., 65, of 112 Beach St., perished in a single vehicle crash on Russell Road Friday evening.
City police report that a 9:48 p.m. caller reported that a pickup truck had crashed in a field off Russell Road in the vicinity of the former Sheraton Inn.
Minutes later, a State Police dispatcher in Northampton advised city police that a trooper was at the scene of the crash reporting that the vehicle had struck a tree and an unconscious operator was trapped inside the truck which was leaking gasoline.
Officer Timothy Fanion was the first city officer to arrive and was soon joined by Officer Patrick Shea. The officers confirmed the trooper’s observations and noted that the vehicle was smoking.
City firefighters arrived two minutes later and quickly extricated the operator.
Lt. Lawrence Valliere of the city’s Traffic and Safety Bureau reports that Robertson, who had been traveling eastbound before the crash, was transported to Noble Hospital where he was pronounced to be deceased.
The State Police accident reconstruction team was dispatched to assist the traffic bureau in the investigation of the crash
Russell Road was closed, between Lloyds Hill and Bates Road, for about two hours.
