WEST YARMOUTH – Yarmouth Police report that on Friday at approximately 10:00 a.m., during heavy rain, the Yarmouth Police and Fire Departments responded to a head-on collision involving a pickup truck and a Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority bus on Willow Street in West Yarmouth near the Ansel Hallet Road intersection.
Fortunately, Yarmouth Police Department Proactive Anti-Crime Officer Christopher Van Ness was in close proximity and arrived on the scene within 30 seconds of the crash. Upon arrival, he found a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck crashed head-on in to a 2016 Ford E450 Bus. The operator of the bus and an adult male passenger promptly exited the bus. The female driver of the pickup truck complained of pain in a knee. While speaking with her, Officer Van Ness noticed the bus starting to catch fire and he and a passing male motorist assisted the female driver out of the pickup truck just prior to it becoming fully engulfed in flames. Officer Van Ness attempted to knock down the fire with his cruiser based portable fire extinguisher but the flames were too massive. Yarmouth Fire Department Firefighters arrived, assisted the woman, and extinguished the fire and made the scene safe. The woman was subsequently transported to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis by Yarmouth Fire Department ambulance.
Additional Yarmouth Police Department Patrol Officers and Supervisors arrived at the scene and assisted in securing the area. Members of the Massachusetts State Police and Yarmouth Division of Natural Resources Officers helped divert and detour traffic which lasted for approximately 90 minutes before traffic was returned to normal conditions.
The follow-up investigation has shown that the operator of the pickup truck—identified as Tracey Louise Smith, age 28, of Howes Road in Wellfleet—lost control of her vehicle and crossed in to the oncoming lane. She has been cited for Speeding; greater than reasonable under the road and weather conditions, Operating to Endanger, and Failing to Stay within Marked Travel Lanes.
The operator of the bus—identified as Steven P. Hull, age 54, of Brian Lane in South Dennis—was not cited and he and his passenger were uninjured.
Patrol Officer Van Ness and Patrol Officer Melissa Alden suffered smoke inhalation injuries and were treated at Cape Cod Hospital and subsequently released.
Both vehicles suffered serious damage and were towed from the scene.
The Yarmouth Police Department thanks everyone involved in helping to resolve this incident and especially thanks the unidentified citizen who left the scene after he helped Officer Van Ness during the initial stages of the crash.
Top photo and slideshow photos courtesy of the Yarmouth Police Department; lower photos by CWN associate John P. Carroll (click single photos to enlarge)
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