THE DRIVER the black Ford Ranger stepside pickup truck was taken by ambulance to Lakes Region General Hospital early Wednesday night following a three-vehicle crash on Route 104 near Abe’s Awesome Armaments. The woman driving the Jeep said it appeared the pickup truck driver, who was heading toward Meredith, drifted into the shoulder and then over-corrected, colliding with an oncoming box truck and her Jeep. Members of the New Hampton Fire Department had to use a hydraulic rescue tool to extricate the driver of the pickup who was unconscious at the scene. BEA LEWIS/CITIZEN NEW HAMPTON — One motorist was seriously injured in a three-vehicle accident on Route 104 early Wednesday night.

One of the motorists involved in the crash said she was heading toward New Hampton in her silver, fourdoor Jeep when an oncoming black Ford Ranger stepside pickup truck appeared to drift into the shoulder and then over-corrected to collide with a box truck before heading straight for her. She said she steered right toward the shoulder in an attempt to avoid the collision but the compact pickup struck the driver’s side rear door.

The pickup sustained severe front-end damage and lost the driver’s side front wheel in the collision which was reported shortly after 6:30 p.m. The crash occurred in the vicinity of Abe’s Awesome Armaments.

Doris Briggs, who lives at 590 Rte. 104, said she was inside her house when she heard a loud boom. She went outside to witness the accident scene.

In the 36 years she has lived beside Route 104, Briggs said she has seen the aftermath of plenty of accidents and even closed a small shop she had in her house because of the danger that exiting and entering busy Route 104 posed to visitors.

The woman driving the Jeep, who did not provide her name, said she had just spent $300 to repair a sensor in her seat belt that was connected to the SUV’s airbag system. Both the front passenger compartment and side air bags in the Jeep deployed, as did the air bag in the steering wheel of the pickup truck.

The woman said the driver of the box truck told her he thought he saw the pickup truck’s driver’s head sagging to one side shortly before the collision and believed he may have fallen asleep or experienced some type of medical event.

Police were still investigating and the identity of the drivers was not available at press time.