By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer
WEST SPRINGFIELD - Police are still sifting through evidence to determine the cause of a five-car pile-up on Interstate 91 Saturday that sent several local residents to the hospital.
According to reports, the accident occurred around 1:45 p.m. when two vehicles crossed over the median into oncoming traffic.
State police Sgt. Matthew Murray said a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Kristi McKenna, 39, of Northampton and a Nissan Altima driven by Syed Alrafai, 19, of Springfield, crossed the median and struck a northbound Pontiac G6, driven by Larry Spain, 43, of Bronx, N.Y.
The initial accident, Murray said, then caused two other vehicles to crash: a Saab driven by Andrew Glace, 61, of Amherst and a Dodge Caravan driven by Amy Roberts-Crawford, 39, of Buckland.
The accident occurred near Exit 14 in the interstate's northbound lane.
"There was a very large response of emergency personnel to this accident," Murray said. "We had state troopers come in from Westfield, Northampton and Springfield."
The accident, Murray said, brought traffic along the Interstate to a standstill for more than an hour. He said police are still working with witnesses and clues at the scene to determine what caused the chain reaction. "Our report doesn't yet indicate whether someone is going to be charged in this," Murray said. "When we get a big accident like this it typically takes a bit of time to investigate."
Murray said four of the five drivers were taken to Baystate Medical Center to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. However, Keith O'Connor, a spokesman at the Springfield hospital, said only Glace and Roberts-Crawford were taken to the hospital, and both were both treated and released.
Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com
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