Luck on side of man ejected from rollover

SAUGUS – A pair of coincidences and a couple of good Samaritans came together Friday morning to help an accident victim who was ejected from his vehicle after he barrel rolled the van he was driving.Fire Chief James Blanchard said a man traveling north on Route 107 lost control of the van he was driving and rolled it several times, taking out a telephone pole in the process. The impact also caused the man to be thrown from the van, launching him nearly 25-yards into the marsh.”Coincidentally an Atlantic Ambulance happened to be on the Marsh Road when it happened and Capt. (Thomas) Nolan also happened to be in East Saugus,” he said.The problem, Blanchard said, they couldn’t find the driver of the van.Blanchard said marsh grass is resilient and while you can knock it down it doesn’t break, it pops back up again, covering any tracks.To search for the victim, Blanchard said Nolan, the two men from the ambulance and a couple of good Samaritans who also stopped to help formed a line and began walking into the marsh calling for the driver.”And he answered them,” he said. “He was conscious.”Blanchard said the man was seriously injured but was conscious enough to guide his searchers to him. By that time, other rescue equipment arrived and they were able to treat him and bring him out of the marsh. The victim was then taken to Massachusetts General Hospital.”He was hurt pretty badly,” Blanchard added. “He’s not going to die from his injuries but it’s going to be a long time before he’s up and around.”Before rescue workers could pack it in, Blanchard said they had to do a perimeter search of the marsh area nearest the crash because they were unsure if the victim had a traveling companion.”He said he was alone, but he’s had a head injury so are you going to believe him,” Blanchard asked.Blanchard said it appeared the man was indeed alone in the crash.