NEWBURYPORT — Merrimac Street near Plummer Street was closed for more than an hour Monday morning at around 8:45 a.m. as firefighters meticulously sawed through a car door in order to free a trapped motorist. Minutes earlier, the motorist’s white Nissan sedan crashed into a much larger black GMC SUV. Both drivers were transported to an area hospital.
The driver of the Nissan was strapped to a gurney, fitted with a neck brace and appeared in serious pain as she was carefully deposited into an Atlantic Ambulance. The driver of the SUV, also on a gurney, was seated up and holding her young daughter as they were placed in another ambulance.
The crash remains under investigation by local police but one possible scenario they are checking out is that the driver of the SUV had pulled onto Merrimac Street after dropping off her child at the corner daycare center and collided with the Nissan that had just been on Plummer Street.
Neighbors watching firefighters and others respond to the crash said that there have been many close calls on the corner of Merrimac and Plummer after the city installed bump-outs on Plummer Street in an effort to reduce speeds there.
Newburyport Chief of Staff Andrew Levine said the bump-outs were installed last summer as the city repaved and raised sidewalks on Plummer Street.
Speed has long been a major concern on that part of Merrimac Street and beyond, according to neighbor Kristen Hunter.
Hunter said she and others have been “begging” city officials to do more to crack down on speeders and install traffic calming devices to reduce speeds.
“Nobody wants to see this happen,” Hunter said. “It’s very concerning.”