Multi-vehicle crash causes several injuries

The incident — or possibly up to three separate incidents — happened early Friday on U.S. Route 9W.

Several people were injured Friday morning in what may have been as many as three separate accidents involving seven cars and including one head-on collision on U.S. Route 9W, the Esopus fire chief said.

William Freer said there were no fatalities at the scene.

Freer said it was unclear whether the accidents were a chain reaction or unrelated. They happened about 7:30 a.m. between Parker Avenue and Main Street, he said

The Esopus Fire Department and Esopus Ambulance squad were dispatched to a reported head-on crash in the area of 1097 Route 9W, according to a fire department press release.

Seven patients were taken by ambulance to four local hospitals, and a quartermile stretch of Route 9W remained closed for almost two hours, Freer said. Two of the involved vehicles collided head-on, trapping one of the drivers, the chief said. He said two individuals may have been admitted to area hospitals, but he did not know the nature or extent of their injuries.

State police were unable to provide the names of injured people or confirm information provided by the fire department.

The fire department press release said the first arriving unit was on the scene prior to the dispatch and found what appeared to be several accidents involving seven vehicles.

A “mass casualty incident plan” was initiated, bringing additional ambulances to the scene to assist, Freer said. Firefighters using the Jaws of Life extraction tool freed the trapped driver in 12 twelve minutes, according to the press release.

Besides the Esopus Fire Department and Esopus Ambulance squad, other responding agencies included Mobile Life Support, the Highland Fire Department, the Port Ewen Fire Department, Marbletown First Aid, Hurley Fire/Rescue, Ulster County Fire and Emergency Management, the Ulster County Sheriffs Office and state police.