A driver on East Street in Easthampton ended up trapped inside a car that was lifted onto a rock on a property, and firefighters had to pull them free before rushing them to a local hospital for treatment on Saturday.
Easthampton Fire Department crews responded to a car crash call on East Street and found the vehicle uplifted onto a rock on the property, according to Western Mass News. The driver was stuck inside the car when crews arrived, and firefighters worked to free them safely before transporting them to a hospital for treatment of their injuries. The station reported that no further details were immediately available, including what caused the car to end up on the rock or the driver's condition afterward.
A Department Built Up for Calls Like This
The rescue fell to a fire department that has spent the past few years expanding its capacity to handle exactly these kinds of emergency calls. In October 2023, the Easthampton Fire Department was awarded a $1.5 million federal SAFER grant to fund four full-time firefighter positions over three years, according to the City of Easthampton Municipal Archives. The department also received a $55,000 FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant in June 2023 to support local fire prevention and public emergency signaling, per the city.
Those crews operate out of the Easthampton Public Safety Complex at 32 Payson Avenue, a joint facility shared with the municipal police department that coordinates fire and emergency medical response for the city, according to the City of Easthampton.
Recent Crashes on Local Roads
Saturday's rescue came 15 days after a far more severe crash in the city. On October 2, a single-vehicle crash on Park Street near the Easthampton rotary killed a 21-year-old passenger and hospitalized two others after the car hit a guardrail and landed in a backyard, Hoodline previously reported. Police and prosecutors investigated speed and vehicle control as factors in that crash.
Local Roadway Safety Efforts
In January 2026, the Easthampton Public Works Department told the City Council that a $100,000 MassDOT appropriation would fund design and ADA ramps at the crossing near Nini’s, according to Citizen Portal.
Traffic citations and criminal motor vehicle cases originating in Easthampton are typically adjudicated at Northampton District Court on Gothic Street, which handles district-level traffic offenses for Easthampton and a dozen surrounding communities. No details on the driver's identity, the crash's cause, or any potential citations in Saturday's incident had been released as of publication.
