Man escapes serious injury in crash that caused car to be impaled by guardrail

Miraculously, the lone occupant of the car escaped serious injury. (NHSP photo)

MERRIMACK - A Loudon man escaped with only minor injuries in a bizarre crash in which his vehicle was impaled by a highway divider, sending a 12-foot portion of it into the opposing line of traffic where it was struck by several vehicles that were rendered inoperable.

The crash occurred near mile marker 9 on the F.E. Everett Turnpike a little before 10 Sunday night when a 2012 Chrysler 300 driven by Jonathan Gouveia, 43, was traveling northbound and reportedly lost control of his vehicle when another unknown vehicle moved into his lane of travel, State Police said in a press release.

Gouveia then lost control of his car and struck the guardrail on the right side of the road which then sent him across the roadway into the center median where his vehicle then struck the monorail dividing the northbound and southbound lanes. Gouveia's vehicle was impaled by about eight feet of the railing, police said.

The impact into the monorail caused a 12-foot segment to become detached and projected across the southbound travel lanes where it was struck by an additional five vehicles rendering them disabled.

Gouveia was treated and released from the scene with only minor injuries. None of the other motorists who struck the detached monorail reported injuries. The left lane of both the northbound and southbound lanes were closed for approximately 2.5 hours while DOT made repairs to the guardrail.

All aspects of the crash remain under investigation and anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to contact Jacob Winslow at Jacob.A.Winslow@dos.nh.gov or 603-223-4381.