Merrimack crash injures 2

MERRIMACK – Two women were injured when a car and a minivan collided at an intersection in the northern part of town Sunday afternoon.

Police said Paulette Rochette of 6 C St., Nashua, was driving her Mazda Protege onto Bedford Road, heading east from Pearson Road, when it struck the minivan in the center of Bedford Road.

The minivan was being operated by Karen Cunningham of Bow, police said. The impact forced it off the roadway, where it struck a fire hydrant before stopping at the edge of a wooded area.

Police said Etta French of Wallace Road, Bedford, who was a passenger in Cunningham’s vehicle, and Rochette were taken to local hospitals by Merrimack Fire and Rescue crews for treatment of unspecified injuries.

Both vehicles were towed from the scene, and traffic on Bedford Road was briefly detoured while police began their investigation, which is continuing, police said.