WESTFIELD – Tragedies during 2011 claimed seven lives in the city, with a residential fire that claimed two lives and five victims of fatal motor vehicle accidents.
The fatal fire, which was reported at 3 p.m. on Feb. 17, 2011 at 27 Overlook Drive, claimed the lives of Douglas M. Anderson, 82, and Gladys A. Anderson, 84. Fire officials said the couple succumbed to smoke inhalation.
The fire was reported by a neighbor who also told emergency responders that the two elderly residents were in the house.
Firefighters crawled into the residence under the pall of smoke and discovered that the fire was in a rear room which was once used as a den, but had been converted into a bedroom. Firefighters were able to knock down the fire quickly. The house was filled with smoke which hindered the search for the residents.
Gladys Anderson was located in the family room of the home and Douglas was located in a second-floor bedroom. Both residents were unconscious when they were located. Firefighters and paramedics attempted to revive the couple at the scene, and then transported them to Noble Hospital where they were pronounced dead.
Fire investigators reported several days after the fire that it was caused by an electrical failure in the converted den. There were no working smoke detectors in the residence.
City fire officials reported that during 2011 there were 125 fires and 2,562 fire responses. The fire incidents resulted in property loss estimated at $1,737,751. There were a total of 69 structural fires. Of that number 53 were fires in residences.
Three of the fatal traffic accidents occurred within days of each other during April of 2011.
Vincent Caputo, 18, of 11-C Holland Avenue died of injuries sustained on April 16 at 4:51 a.m. when the 2008 Chevrolet he was operating struck a tree on Cross Street. Caputo, who was operating the vehicle north on Cross Street lost control of the Chevrolet Cobalt, which crossed over the southbound lane and struck the tree next to the Cross Street Playground.
The second fatal accident, which occurred on April 20 at 2:38 p.m., claimed the life of Antoinette Stark, 78, of 330 Rock Valley Road, Holyoke in a three-vehicle collision at the intersection of Springfield and East Mountain roads.
Stark was the passenger in a 2002 Toyota operated by Linda J. Barcomb, 71, of 160 Nonotuck St., Northampton. Barcomb was operating the vehicle east on Springfield Road when she attempted to make a left turn onto East Mountain Road and was struck on the passenger side of the Toyota by a westbound 1999 Chevrolet Suburban. The impact of that collision pushed both vehicles into a 2007 Toyota which was stopped at the traffic light in the southbound lane of East Mountain Road.
The third fatal April accident occurred on the 27th at 12:17 a.m. when Dzmitry Khotski, 23, of 917 Southampton Road, lost control of 1998 BMW on North Road. Khotski was partially ejected from the vehicle and dragged along the highway before being thrown clear of the BMW.
Khotski was operating the vehicle west on the roadway when he lost control, crossed over the eastbound lane and struck the guard rails. The BMW, which was “demolished” in the collision, crossed back over the highway and came to rest in front of the Russian Evangelical Baptist Church at 866 North Road. Two other occupants of the vehicle were transported to the Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment.
Two fatal accidents occurred in July, one involving a pedestrian and the other the operator of a van involved in a two vehicle collision on East Mountain Road.
William C. Brown, 70, of 6 Joseph Avenue was operating his 2000 Ford Windstar north on East Mountain Road at 4:07 p.m. on July 9, 2011 when the operator of a southbound 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer lost control of the vehicle which crossed over and collided with Brown’s van.
Brown and two children in the Chevrolet, operated by Dean A, Carbone of East Primrose Drive, Longmeadow, were transported to the Baystate Medical Center and admitted for treatment. Brown later succumbed to injuries.
The second accident, involving a pedestrian, occurred on July 21 at 5:23 p.m. on East Silver Street. Raymond Barber, 53, of 20 Murphy Circle, was attempting to cross the street when he apparently tripped at the curb and fell under the wheels of a tow truck. Barber was run over by the dual rear wheels of the truck.
Barber was transported to the Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment of trauma to his lower back and legs. Barber died of those injuries on July 28.
