Springfield reported several car crashes in the opening hours of Labor Day, while a pair of women died in a head-on collision in Enfield.
SPRINGFIELD — With fair weather on tap and many New Englanders trying to squeeze in one last getaway before fall, more drivers were expected to hit the highways this holiday weekend. But local motorists seemed to take that prediction by AAA literally, crashing into each other and stationary objects as a number of collisions and property damage car accidents were reported throughout greater Springfield.
Multiple accidents were reported in the City of Homes during the predawn hours Monday. Drivers survived the Springfield crashes with mostly minor injuries, but a pair of women were killed in a head-on collision in Enfield early Sunday evening, according to authorities in Connecticut.
Springfield police Lt. James Rosso said there were "no major injuries" in any of the city crashes, which began around 12:30 a.m. Monday and continued over the next few hours.
In the first incident, a car rolled over near the intersection of State and Benton streets in the Pine Point neighborhood, sending a person to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A second Pine Point crash, this time involving two vehicles, was reported around 1:30 a.m. near 1534 State St. That was followed about an hour later by a two-car crash at the intersection of Sumner Avenue and White street in the city's Forest Park neighborhood. One of the vehicles fled the scene, police said.
City police also kept busy investigating a handful of property-damage crashes. It was not immediately known if any of the incidents led to arrests.
In Enfield, two women died after the cars they were driving collided at the intersection of Route 5 and Broadleaf Lane at about 6:20 p.m. Firefighters had to extricate each driver from her vehicle, the Hartford Courant reports.
One woman was rushed to Bay State Medical Center in Springfield, the other to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford. Both were pronounced dead, but the victims' identities were unavailable.
The fatal crash happened about 1½ miles south of Hazard Avenue. It remains under investigation by the Enfield Police Department, which is seeking information from the public about the crash. The department can be reached at (860) 763-6400, Ext. 8920.
The accidents coincided with AAA's prediction that more than 28 million Americans would take to the roads this Labor Day holiday weekend. In New England, about 1.6 million residents (about 11.3 percent of the region's population) were expected to travel 50 miles or more from home, representing a 3 percent increase from 2011, AAA reports.
The increase appears to reflect the nation's continued slow and steady economic recovery, according to AAA Southern New England. Recent data shows New England has seen modest labor market improvements, encouraging slightly more travel.
Material from the Associated Press and Hartford Courant was used in this report.
MAP showing approximate location of Sunday's fatal head-on collision between two cars on Route 5 in Enfield: