An Oxford man amazingly survived with minor injuries after striking a guardrail on Governor’s Hill Road Monday night.
Carl Ottowell, 53, of Good Hill Road, was driving his 2005 Buick up the hill near 20 Governor’s Hill Road at 6:25 p.m. Monday when he lost consciousness and drove off the left side of the road, striking a steel guardrail head on, according to police. He escaped with a head scrape, emergency officials said.
The guardrail went through the windsheild and bent back the roof, narrowly missing Ottowell, who was the only person in the car (see photos), Oxford Fire Chief Scott Pelletier said. The crash caused a small fire inside the Buick and shattered the glass windshield, he said, adding that neighbors ran toward the accident scene with water and fire extinguishers; they knocked down the flames and made sure Ottowell was out of the car.
Oxford firefighters extinguished the remainder of the fire. Oxford Ambulance crews treated Ottowell on scene and brought him to a local hospital where he was treated and released.
Ottowell told emergency crews that he recently had surgery that may have caused him to lose consciousness. Police took no enforcement action.
The car, which was totaled, was towed from the scene.
Almost 24 hours to the minute after that accident, another crash occurred near Perry Lane in Oxford around 6:25 p.m. Tuesday.
A man was driving up the road when he lost control of his vehicle and drove off the side of the road. Several local emergency crews responded because original reports stated the man was trapped in his vehicle. But when emergency crews arrived, the man was out of the car, Pelletier said.
That man’s name was not immediately available as of late Tuesday night.
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