Updated Dec. 20
Oak Bluffs Police closed off a large section of New York Avenue on Thursday afternoon after two cars seemingly crashed headfirst into each other.
Emergency vehicles encircled a silver Toyota RAV4 and a gray Subaru SUV on New York Avenue and Chestnut Avenue following the accident.
Both vehicles had heavy front-end damage; the Subaru’s door had fallen off.
Oak Bluffs Police reported online that a driver who needed to be extricated was taken to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital for “apparent non-life-threatening injuries.” The other vehicle operator declined medical treatment.
Oak Bluffs Fire Chief Stephen Foster said firefighters needed to use “extrication tools,” cutters, and spreaders, to remove the door to safely get the driver out of the vehicle. To “mitigate any hazards,” the fire crews also removed the batteries from the vehicles.
Foster said emergency responders were dispatched around 2:49 pm.
By around 3:20, Oak Bluffs firefighters were clearing debris with brooms from the road and applying SpeedyDry to fluids. Police officers blocked traffic on New York Avenue roughly between Towanticut and Chapman avenues.
The driver who was trapped in their vehicle was evaluated by Oak Bluffs EMS. Foster said the other person involved in the accident was evaluated by Tisbury EMS.
One driver was cited for a marked lanes violation.
Updated with additional information from the Oak Bluffs Police Department.
