The Wednesday afternoon crash sent three others to area hospitals.
04.20.2011 | WESTFIELD - The scene of an accident at the intersection of Route 20 and East Mountain Road Wednesday.This updates a story originally filed Wednesday at 3:22 p.m.
WESTFIELD – Police continue to probe a three -vehicle crash at Route 20 and East Mountain Road Wednesday afternoon that took the life of a 78-year-old Holyoke woman and sent three drivers to area hospitals.
Police identified the fatally-injured woman as Antoinette Stark, of 330 Rock Valley Road, Holyoke. Stark was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where she was pronounced dead, Lt. Hipolito Nunez said.
Linda Barcomb, 71, of 160 Nonotuck St., Northampton, the driver of the Toyota that Stark was riding in, was listed in fair condition Thursday morning at Baystate Medical Center.
Nina Castonguay, 49, of 159 Greystone Ave., West Springfield, was listed in good condition at Baystate. The third driver, Olesya Balzhyk, 23, of 17 Hancock St., was taken to Noble Hospital where she was treated and released.
Nunez said the crash occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m. as Barcomb drove a Toyota east on Route 20 (Springfield Road) and attempted to make a left turn onto East Mountain Road.
Castonguay, driving west on Route 20 in a Chevrolet Suburban, came into contact with the passenger side of Barcomb’s Toyota, Nunez said.
The impact sent Barcomb’s vehicle into a Toyota, driven by Balzhyk, that had been waiting, southbound, at the traffic light on East Mountain Road.
Police closed the intersection for several hours after the crash. It remains under investigation by Westfield and state police from the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section.
Additional information on the crash, including seat belt usage, was not immediately available.