Sneezing fit causes accident

December 12, 2003

NH Business Review Staff,

MERRIMACK – A sneezing fit is to blame for a Thursday afternoon car crash in which one woman was injured, police said.

Mary Higginson, 55, of 18 Sandpiper Lane in Merrimack told police she was hit by a round of uncontrollable sneezes before her 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee ran off the road and rammed into 2002 Chevrolet C24 pick-up truck that was stopped at a stop sign.

The crash happened at about 3:30 p.m. near the Nashua city line at the intersection of Al Paul Lane and Manchester Street.

Higginson was traveling south on Manchester Street when the sneezing fit began, police said. At some point during the sneeze attack, police said Higginson lost control of the Jeep, which then went off onto the shoulder of the road and plowed through a snow bank, before finally slamming into the pick-up. The driver of the pick-up, Mark Siemiesz, 40, of 207 Bedford Road in New Boston, was not injured, police said.

Higginson, who complained of a possible injury, refused transportation by ambulance to a local hospital at the scene but was later treated at a hospital. The extent of her injuries not known.

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