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While lawmakers mull elder driver laws, another crash injures three

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 30, 2009 05:32 PM

By Globe Staff

Even as a legislative committee was hearing testimony today in a quiet State House room on bills tightening the rules for elderly drivers, another crash involving an elderly driver in Woburn sent a woman to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

An 83-year-old Malden man is facing charges of negligent operation after the 12:26 p.m. accident at Old Cambridge Road and Russell Street, said Woburn Police Sergeant Robert Giannotti. Police will also ask the Registry of Motor Vehicles to determine that the man is an immediate public safety threat and revoke his license.

Giannotti said the man and his 84-year-old wife were in a Toyota Camry that was coming out of Old Cambridge Road onto Russell Street. The car hit a Chrysler Sebring driven by a 78-year-old Woburn woman who was driving west on Russell. The collision was "not head-on but nearly head-on," said Giannotti.

The Woburn woman was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with life-threatening injuries. The Malden couple were taken to the Lahey Clinic in Burlington. Giannotti didn't have any information on their condition.

The accident is under investigation by the Woburn Police and the State Police accident reconstruction team, said Giannotti.