SALEM – Three people from India received minor injuries after the car they were riding in went off the road. Due to a language barrier, investigators think the group may have spent Friday night in the crashed car before it was discovered on Saturday morning.
Emergency crews were called at 7:18 Saturday morning after the 2015 Nissan 4-door sedan was found off the road, partially hidden in a wooded area off the Salem Road.
The sedan was driven by Sunny Pramanick, 29, an Indian national currently living in Connecticut on a work visa. His two passengers are also from India with work visas and live in New Jersey, said Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols.
According to Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholas Zecher’s investigation, the trio came to celebrate the Fourth of July in Rangeley and were renting a place to stay in Salem.
Rangeley’s Independence Day events and fireworks were held on Friday, July 3. Nichols said due to the language barrier, it’s not certain, but the group may have been returning to Salem from Rangeley after the fireworks display, when their rented sedan went off the road. It’s possible they spent Friday night in the car, he said.
“Everyone had a hard time understanding them,” Nichols said.
According to Zecher’s report, the car was traveling towards Salem when the driver lost control in the soft shoulder. In an attempt to pull the car back onto the road, he over-corrected, causing the sedan to skid into the opposite lane and into the wooded area.
All of the rental car’s airbags were deployed. The driver and passengers sustained minor injuries. The Salem Fire Department assisted at the scene.
Glad they are ok. Running into a language barrier is painful.