Five-Car Pileup on East Main Road Sends Four to Hospital

A five-car pileup in Middletown late Friday morning sent four motorists to the hospital and shut down East Main Road north of Oliphant Lane for nearly about 45 minutes.

The accident happened around 10:30 a.m. at the Oliphant Lane three-way stoplight in the southbound lane on East Main Road.

The four injured motorists were transported by rescue to Newport Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries such as neck pain complaints, according to a Middletown Police Department spokesperson at the scene.

The vehicles involved in the rear-end pile-up included a utility van, two sedans, an SUV and a commercial cube truck. The SUV and commercial cube truck sustained the heaviest damage, as seen in the photos at right.

A police department spokesperson identified the motorists involved in the accident as Joseph McKenna, 43, David Lang, 46, Zara L. Brockman, 29, Deborah Smith, 55, and Peter Messier, 43.

The Middletown Police and Fire departments responded to the scene, with  assistance from the Newport and Navy base fire departments that provided additional rescue vehicles at the scene.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Such rear-end accidents at the junction of East Main Road and Oliphant Lane are not uncommon, said Lt. Robert Nutt, spokesperson for the He said traveling at excessive speeds on East Main Road and failing to slow down or notice the stoplight is often a common cause.