Accident Snarls Traffic, Sends Bicyclist to Trauma Center

A motor vehicle accident shut down Bedford Street and sent an adult male to Lahey Clinic with apparently serious injuries on Thursday, Sept. 20, Concord Fire Chief Mark Cotreau confirmed today.

According to Cotreau, CFD received a call at 4:18 p.m. reporting a bicyclist was struck by a motor vehicle near the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Emergency responders treated the adult male cyclist, who appeared to have serious injuries, and then transported him to Lahey, the nearest trauma center, Cotreau said.

The road, ordinarily heavy with commuters at that time of day, was shut down for a period of time and traffic rerouted to nearby arteries. Some commuters have reported the accident more than doubled their typical commute. 

According to Cotreau, companies arrived on the scene at 4:22 p.m., treated the patient and arrived at Lahey at 4:46 p.m., well within the “Golden Hour” in which emergency responders strive to get a patient to a trauma center after a serious accident.

“It’s very important in a case where you expect serious trauma to get the patient to a trauma center within the first hour that the accident actually happens,” Cotreau said.