Crime & Safety

CORRECTION: Driver Uninjured After Two-Vehicle Crash in Tiverton

A Portsmouth driver and his passenger from Fall River, MA, walked away uninjured after a two-vehicle crash in Tiverton Monday.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the passenger in the vehicle. The passenger was Stroup's teenage son. 

A Portsmouth man and his passenger from Fall River, MA, are extremely lucky to be uninjured after the vehicle they were traveling in struck a utility pole Monday morning in Tiverton. 

"He (the vehicle passenger) was wearing his safety belt and that probably saved his life," said Lt. Patrick Jones of the Tiverton Police Department. 

Both the driver and passenger were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, which occurred at 10:24 a.m. on Shove Street, just over the Tiverton town line near Fall River, MA.

A 2011 Chevy Silverado pickup truck, operated by a Harry Stroup, 59, of Portsmouth, was traveling south on Shove Street, entering the town of Tiverton at the time. 

Stroup was traveling with a passenger in the vehicle, his teenage son. 

According to police, the Chevy Silverado was driving behind a 2004 Toyota Matrix, operated by Buc Daniels, 35, of Lowell, MA. 

At one point, the Toyota Matrix attempted to make a u-turn in the middle of the street, causing the Chevy pickup truck to strike the Toyota on its side.

The Chevy pickup truck then struck utility pole, which snapped in half and impaled the car through the front windshield on the passenger side.  

“Fortunately, the two gentlemen were wearing their safety belts which kept them in their seats," Lt. Jones said. Both men walked away from the truck unharmed. 

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Tiverton Fire personnel used the Jaws-of-Life to extricate Daniels, the operator of the Toyota Matrix. He was transported by ambulance to Rhode Island Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. 

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. The investigating officer is Tiverton Patrolman Sean Frodyma. 

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