LFD command cruiser and SUV collide at N. Main and New Salem Street

Laconia Fire Lieutenant Kirk Beattie was transported to the Lakes Region General Hospital emergency room when the department command cruiser he was operating while responding to an accident was involved in a two car collision at the intersection of North Main and New Salem Streets.

Fire Chief Ken Erickson reported that Beattie was slightly shaken but not injured. After his release from the hospital, Beattie returned to work at the Central Fire Station but was instructed to go home for the rest of his shift.

According to the Laconia Police Department media release on the accident, the initial police investigation determined that the fire department cruiser was proceeding northbound on North Main in response to another accident at the intersection of North Main and Parker Street. The second vehicle, driven by Stacy Sorrell, 37, of Laconia, attempted a left hand turn from North Main onto New Salem and struck the LFD Ford Crown Victoria. The fire department vehicle was driven up onto the snow bank and came to a stop just short of an abandoned railroad signal post.

The fire department vehicle was not disabled, but the other vehicle, a late model sport utility vehicle, had to be towed from the scene. Sorrell was not injured in the incident.

The police release indicated that neither speed nor alcohol were factors in the crash.

According to Erickson, the emergency medical personnel attending to the accident only a few blocks further north watched as this accident occurred. Southbound traffic on North Main was re-routed onto Harvard Street for approximately 30 minutes while the New Salem Street intersection was cleared.

Erickson remarked, "I am extremely relieved that no one was seriously injured as a result of the collision. Given the number of calls we make each day, each week, I am always amazed that there are not more incidents like this one. We are extremely grateful that Lt. Beattie was not injured.”