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Newton firefighter seriously injured after ice from truck smashes through windshield

BURLINGTON, Mass. — A Newton firefighter was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries after ice that dislodged from a commercial truck smashed through his windshield Thursday, according to Massachusetts State Police.

A 40-year-old Newton man, identified as Eric Travers, a 38-year-old Newton woman and two children, ages 3 and 1, were in the car, but police say only Travers -- who was driving -- was seriously injured. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with potentially serious injuries.

The others were taken separately to MGH with minor injuries.

“Absolutely could’ve been worse. The sheer weight of ice that struck the vehicle. It was a big sheet of ice. We’re lucky that this didn’t result in a worse situation for sure,”

Travers’ sister said her brother had a lot of glass in his eyes and is he still in the hospital with his wife by his side. His sister is currently with the couple’s two children who, while physically okay, are still shaken up.

According to police, the ice is believed to have come from a moving truck with a New Hampshire license plate. It happened on Route 3 south near exit 26 in Burlington.

Police say the truck was stopped several minutes after the crash in Chelmsford. It is owned by Diggins and Rose Moving Systems of Hudson, N.H., according to police. It is an agent of United Van Lines.

“The sheer weight of the ice, it struck the vehicle, it was a big sheet of ice so we’re lucky that this didn’t result in a worse situation,” said Burlington Fire Chief Michael Patterson. “Very dangerous when people do not clear the roofs, whether it’s a personal vehicle or a large 18-wheeler truck - very dangerous.”

According to police, the driver, a 55-year-old N.H. man, was unaware of ice on the truck. He was issued a warning for having an unsecured load and impeded operation.

Burlington fire officials are taking this as an opportunity to once again remind drivers to clear the snow before they go.

“Unfortunately when snow and ice is not removed it can lead to serious incidents such as this, we’re thankful at this time that the injuries to all of them are non-life-threatening but we see this too often in our industry especially on the interstates,” said Patterson.