Police are investigating a crash that sent four local teens to the hospital Monday afternoon after the sedan they were traveling in slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer on Route 3.
The tractor was turning into Sand Road from Route 3 about 3:30 p.m. to deliver alcohol to the New Hampshire Wine & Liquor Outlet store when a 2008 Honda Accord in the northbound lane collided head-on with its rear, which was sticking out into the other lane, according to reports.
There were four teens in the Honda between the ages of 16 and 17, Pembroke police Chief Dwayne Gilman said.
The teenagers’ injuries were “serious but not life-threatening,” he said. They were transported to Concord Hospital. Three, including the driver, were from Pembroke, and the fourth was from Chichester.
“Everybody involved is very, very lucky. This could have easily been a fatality or a multiple fatality,” he said. The driver of the tractor-trailer was uninjured.
Police do not suspect alcohol was a factor in the crash, Gilman said. They’re primarily investigating whether speed or the tractor-trailer driver’s decision to turn when he did caused the accident.
Once fault is determined, then police will decide whether any charges are warranted, he said.
Route 3 was closed for several hours while officials cleared the scene. Concord police helped divert traffic onto Route 106 and Airport Road.
(Lola Duffort can be reached at 369-3321 or lduffort@cmonitor.com.)