Head-on collision seriously injures two people

A head-on collision on U.S. 522 involving a tractor-trailer hauling logs and a Nissan Frontier pickup truck on Monday seriously injured a Walkersville, Maryland couple.

Harold Gamble III, the Nissan SE driver, and his wife Suzanne Gamble, the passenger, were flown by helicopters to Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown. They are part-time Morgan County residents.

The accident took place about 1:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon, said Morgan County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Barney, the investigating officer.

The wreck took place on Brosus Hill in northern Morgan County along the stretch of highway with double lanes about a mile from the Hancock Bridge, Barney said. Both vehicles were severely damaged.

The wreck completely closed the highway for two hours.

It appeared that the southbound Nissan crossed the center line and struck the northbound tractor-trailer, Barney said.

When he arrived at the scene, Barney found Suzanne Gamble had climbed out of the vehicle. She was sitting along the road being tended to by passersby, he said.

Her husband Harold Gamble III was still in the Nissan and was conscious. Firefighters had to extricate Gamble, which took more than a half-hour.

Truck driver Matt Price from Everett, Pennsylvania appeared to be uninjured and refused medical treatment, Barney said.

As of Monday night, both Gamble and his wife were in the trauma ward, Barney said. No further details were available on their condition.

From what hospital personnel told him, Barney believed the Gambles should recover from their injuries. Since both were in serious condition, he was
unable to talk with them about the accident.

Wreck closed highway
Debris and diesel fuel from the accident was spread across the highway. The road shut down immediately after the accident, Barney said. They got two lanes opened up around 3:30 p.m. so traffic could get through.

There was difficulty moving vehicles from the scene because of the extent of the damage. The entire road opened at 5:25 p.m.

Responders
Barney, along with Sheriff Vince Shambaugh and Deputy Sheriff Scott Lemon, accident reconstruction specialist, responded to the accident.

Berkeley Springs Fire Depart-ment, Hancock Fire Department
and Rescue Squad, Morgan County Sheriff’s Department Reserves, Morgan County Rescue Squad, Town of Bath Police and Hancock Fire Police
also responded.

Environmental Protection Agency officials reviewed the scene and made recommendations to handle the spill.

State Highways Supervisor John Coleman and his crew assisted with clean-up. Department of Transportation personnel were also at the scene.
Barney said he cleared the accident scene at 5:25 p.m.

Based on his preliminary investigation, charges may be pending, Barney said. He wanted to complete his investigation first and speak with Gamble once he was stabilized.

Second accident
Another accident took place on New Hope Road on Monday morning. A dump truck flipped over and dumped asphalt all over the roadway, Barney said. There were no injuries. Deputy Cliff Cobern was on the scene from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. directing traffic and ensuring that motorists could safely get around the accident, which was on a hazardous section of road.

They had to call for a special tow truck to move the dump truck and wait until it could get there.

The tow truck became caught in traffic from a wreck on I-70, However, they were able to keep one lane of New Hope Road open during the wait, Barney said.