Newton Man Seriously Injured By Ice Through Windshield On Route 3

BURLINGTON, MA — A driver was seriously injured when ice, believed to have come off a commercial truck, went through his pickup's windshield on Route 3 in Burlington, state police said Thursday. The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m, south of Exit 26 in the northbound direction. The driver, 40, a Newton man, was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. A Netwon woman, 38, in the passenger seat, and a boy, 3, were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

The fourth passenger, a one-year-old girl, was uninjured but taken to the hospital as a precaution, police said. The pickup was a 2019 Dodge 1500. According to a separate release by the Burlington Fire Department, the man was struck in the face, and had serious cuts on his face.

Police believe based on a preliminary investigation that the ice came off the roof of a New Hampshire box truck. It went through the windshield on the driver's side, at which point the pickup stopped while the box truck continued north on Route 3. The pickup was towed by Burlington's Winn Street Services.

According to the fire department, a "large sheet of ice" appears to have fallen off the truck, and a section went through the pickup's windshield. Ice was scattered inside the pickup and on the ground around it.

A witness followed the truck, and helped a state trooper find and stop it in Chelmsford, state police said. The truck is owned by the Hudson, N.H. moving company Diggins & Rose Moving Systems, an agent of United Van Lines.

The truck driver, a 55-year-old Litchfield, N.H. man, cooperated with police and said he didn't know about the ice on the roof of the truck. He was issued warnings.

“This serious incident could have been much worse if not for the quick thinking of the driver, who quickly pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road,”Burlington Fire Chief Michael Patterson said in a statement. “This is an example of the importance of clearing ice and snow off of the roof of your vehicle, and the dangers that can occur if snow and ice fall off of a vehicle while it is being driven.”

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.