STRATHAM — Two vehicles collided
head-on in the center lane of Portsmouth Avenue Monday
leaving a driver and passenger with lacerations and
perhaps broken bones.
A police officer who responded to
the scene said later that traveling the center turning
lane on the three-lane road is an unlawful and
dangerous practice. Both drivers involved in the
accident were in the center lane and traveling, police
said. No charges have yet been filed.
Jessica Turrill, 22, of Newmarket
and her juvenile passenger were transported to Exeter
Hospital. Turrill received a severe
laceration above her right eye and possibly a broken
knee cap, police said. The juvenile received a laceration
and broken nose, police said. The driver of the other vehicle, Kevin Wiggin, 46, of Dover and his passenger were
either uninjured or not seriously enough to require
hospital attention.
The collision took place shortly
before 5:30 p.m. Wiggin had entered the center lane
from River Road and headed north, police said. Turrill, driving a 1988 Dodge Aries, had entered the center lane from Frying Pan
Lane and headed south.
The vehicles collided. The Aries
was totaled, its front end smashed to the dashboard
and the car coming to rest in a parking lot about 25
feet from point of impact. Wiggin’s 2004 Ford F-250 received moderate damage. Both vehicles were towed from the
scene. The accident was under
investigation as of last night, said Stratham Police
Officer John Emerson.
Emerson said drivers often enter
the center lane and motor it, looking to enter the
travel lane rather than sitting in the center with
their turn signal on and waiting for an opening. "It’s a lane for turning only; you can’t physically travel down it," he said. With the many businesses located along Portsmouth Avenue, and motorists frequently
entering the center lane to prepare for turns into the
businesses, those who travel the middle lane as a
means to enter traffic more readily run the risk of
accidents, Emerson said.
Stratham firefighters and emergency
medical technicians assisted at the scene. Also
responding were Newfields police, the Exeter Fire
Department and an Exeter Hospital advanced
life-support unit. The injured received treatment at
Exeter Hospital.
