PORTSMOUTH — Two people were rushed to the hospital following a major collision involving a lumber truck and three vehicles that damaged a telephone pole and tied up traffic for hours on East Main Road on Saturday, Aug. 5.

According to officials, a Bill’s Sales truck filled with long, heavy logs crashed into a telephone pole just across from Crossings Court around 2 p.m. 

The truck overturned, spilling logs onto a black Mercedes, crushing the front of the car and pinning the driver. The driver had to be freed by rescue workers before being transported to a hospital with serious injuries. 

After the initial crash, two other vehicles then collided head-on. One person sustained minor injuries and was taken to a hospital, while three others — including the truck driver — declined treatment.

At one point, representatives from Rhode Island Energy used a truck with a pole-setter to keep the utility pole upright (it was later replaced), while others worked to lift the truck off the car and the pole while keeping the load of wood from rolling off into the roadway.

Many in the surrounding neighborhood lost power after the crash because a transformer started leaking after the pole was struck. Traffic was tied up for hours.

Local and Rhode Island State Police are investigating the accident.