Police identify Saugus accident victim

SAUGUS-Police on Friday identified the driver of a commercial van involved in a serious accident on Water Street near Richardson Circle Thursday night.Michael O’Hearn, 27, of 27 New Ocean St., Lynn, was transported to Mass. General Hospital shortly after the 9:30 p.m. crash.O’Hearn was the only occupant of the Arctic Engineering van and no other vehicles were involved.He was listed in fair condition Friday night.According to Saugus police spokesperson Lt. Michael Annese, O’Hearn was driving eastbound on Water Street when his vehicle veered to the right and hit a guardrail before bouncing across the road. It then hit a large boulder head-on on the westbound side.O’Hearn was conscious and alert when firefighters arrived but he had serious injuries, including a broken and deformed right ankle and leg, numerous lacerations and possible internal injuries at the time.Fire Chief Jim Blanchard reported O’Hearn was pinned between the seat and the dashboard. Firefghters had to remove the windshield in order to extricate him.Blanchard said firefighters, led by Capt. Stephen Johnson, quickly determined they could not reach the driver through the rear of the van due to the debris.The rear compartment of the work vehicle was in shambles with much of the equipment pinned against the protective shield. The shield is a fencelike structure between the driver and the rear of the van designed to hold debris at bay in the case of an accident.Blanchard said it worked pretty well with the exception of a length of copper pipe that sailed through the fence and windshield.”It didn’t hit him,” he said, “but it certainly could have.”The sight of a few acetelyne tanks and the smell of other fluids made firefighters doubly cautious, Blanchard added.Blanchard said O’Hearn will likely recover from his injuries.”It’s going to be awhile though,” he said.A MedFlight was requested but the weather kept the helicopter grounded. O’Hearn was transported to Mass. General by ambulance.”The firefighters did an excellent job,” Blanchard said. “There was a firefighter in there with him all the way through it, calming him down, while the others worked to free him. They did great.”