A late-night crash on Pleasant Lake Avenue in Harwich turned into a prolonged rescue operation Tuesday, after a two-vehicle collision left one driver trapped and critically injured. Off-duty firefighters walking out of Town Meeting were among the first to reach the wreck and jumped in to help as formal crews raced to the scene. It would take more than half an hour to free the driver and get an airlift lined up to a trauma center off Cape.
Harwich Fire and Harwich Police responded around 8:50 p.m. to a report of a motor-vehicle entrapment on Pleasant Lake Avenue near Harwood Road, according to Boston 25. When they arrived, they found a pickup truck and a heavily damaged sedan, with one occupant still pinned inside and described as having life-threatening injuries.
Rescue And Airlift
Video and reporting from CapeCod.com show firefighters working with hydraulic rescue tools, commonly known as the Jaws of Life, to peel open the sedan and reach the trapped driver. As crews cut into the car, they also requested a landing zone at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School. According to CapeCod.com, the extrication stretched past the 30-minute mark, and Route 124 was shut down in the area while first responders worked.
Boston 25 reports that the driver was finally freed after about 35 minutes, then taken to Barnstable Municipal Airport to meet an air ambulance headed to an off-Cape trauma center. A second person from the crash was brought by ambulance to Cape Cod Hospital with injuries that were described as non-life-threatening.
Investigation
CapeCod.com reports that Harwich Police called in the Cape Cod Regional Law Enforcement Council's Crash Reconstruction Team to work the scene, and further noted that one driver was reportedly arrested, a detail that had not been confirmed by other outlets as of publication. Police have not released the names of anyone involved, and the cause of the collision remains under investigation.
Local Context
Pleasant Lake Avenue, also known as Route 124, has been flagged in regional safety reviews for visibility problems and tricky turning movements. Town and regional profiles from the Cape Cod Commission label the corridor as a high-risk stretch with a history of crashes, and those findings have pushed Harwich officials to prioritize safety improvements along Route 124 in recent years.
Harwich Police say the investigation is ongoing and have not provided additional information. Details may be updated as officials release more about the crash.
