Two-car collision on Union Ave leaves drivers with minor injuries

LACONIA — A Toyota Tundra pickup truck heading southbound on Union Avenue collided head-on with a Honda CR-V SUV headed northbound near Walnut Street in Lakeport around 3:10 p.m. on Friday afternoon, leaving the drivers with minor injuries. Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield said preliminary analysis indicates the truck veered into the northbound lane.

Canfield reported the drivers were both transported to Concord Hospital-Laconia. There were no passengers involved in the accident.

The collision forced Union Avenue traffic onto Walnut Street and Mechanic Street for approximately 30 minutes. The cars were towed by Gulbicki's Towing about 30 minutes after the collision, and Union Avenue was reopened.

The two vehicles had varying levels of damage. The SUV's front end was crumpled, while damage to the truck was contained to the bumper and front body. Canfield said he was not on the scene during the collision, but minor injuries are plausible following an accident like this, as Union Avenue has a 30-mile-per-hour speed limit, and modern cars are designed to crumple.

“Most of the bumpers are designed to collapse in order to absorb a lot of that impact, to protect people and keep them safe,” he said. “I don't find it unusual that there wouldn't be significant injuries.”

Observation and testing at the hospital could reveal potential injuries not evident on the scene.

While Canfield said the cause of the crash is not certain at this time, the leading cause of accidents is distracted driving.

“People on their telephones, people playing with the stereo, people eating, people doing all kinds of other things that are distracting when they're driving a motor vehicle,” he said. “You have to keep in mind, a motor vehicle is a 5,000- or 6,000-pound, basically, weapon, that's moving. Even at a 30-mile-an-hour rate of speed, it's still fast.”

To combat distracted driving, police departments from Meredith to Belmont will engage in an enhanced traffic enforcement campaign on Route 106 in the last week of March. Canfield specifically mentioned an accident in Loudon last month, killing one person and injuring two, as being the inspiration for this.

“There's been a significant number of serious injuries or fatalities along 106,” Canfield said. “So that was just the coordinated effort that everyone came together. They were able to do that with staffing levels, and do a coordinated effort all along 106.”