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Boston meteorologist Michael Page feeling sore but grateful after scary head-on car crash

State police say the Weather Channel meteorologist was taken to the hospital with "minor injuries" after he and his girlfriend were hit by a wrong-way driver in Quincy.

By Nik DeCosta-Klipa

January 3, 2022

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Michael Page was supposed to be headed to Washington, D.C., to cover the region’s first major snowstorm in years Sunday night. Instead, the local meteorologist and his girlfriend ended up in the hospital after a wrong-way driver careened into them on a coastal parkway in Quincy.

Page just feels fortunate that it wasn’t worse.

The 31-year-old Hingham native says he and his girlfriend came away with a little more than “bumps and bruises,” after their car was hit by another SUV driving the wrong direction in their lane Sunday afternoon on Quincy Shore Drive.

Page, who worked for NECN and NBC10 Boston from 2015 to 2020 and now freelances for the Weather Channel, says they had been shopping in Somerville, until he got a call from the network asking if he could fly to D.C. for snow coverage. On the way back to Hingham to pack for the flight, Page says his girlfriend, Rachel, had just finished booking his flight when they noticed the Saturn Vue approaching on their side of the median.

“I did my best to swerve to the right to avoid him, but at the same time he was sort of correcting, so obviously we collided,” he told Boston.com over the phone Monday.

Fortunately, while the crash did significant damage to both cars, Page says they both maintained consciousness and were able to safely get out of the car, along with his girlfriend’s 13-year-old toy poodle. Both were taken to South Shore Hospital and treated for minor injuries; Page says he was discharged Sunday night, while his girlfriend stayed at the hospital until Monday afternoon.

“We’re still just kind of sore and it sounds like all the tests came back OK,” he said.

The other driver, a 28-year-old Weymouth man, was more visibly injured, with a bloodied head, according to Page.

Page says he doesn’t know why the other driver was in the wrong lane. No charges were logged Sunday, according to Massachusetts State Police.

The crash closed all southbound lanes on Quincy Shore Drive near Caddy Park for about 45 minutes, state police said, adding that more details would be available after investigators complete the crash report later this week.

Above all, Page is thankful to the first responders and passersby who cared for them in the wake of the traumatic moment.

“There were a couple people out walking and biking and even people driving behind us who were so kind and brought us some blankets so Rachel wasn’t sitting on like the muddy ground and helping with taking photos and calling the police and asking if they can help with the dog,” Page said.

With the short-staffed health care system already straining under the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic, Page added that he was amazed by the attention they got at the hospital as well.

“These poor nurses and doctors have been dealing with [the pandemic] for two years and then you come in with an emergency that’s not COVID and they’re still doing everything they can to make sure you’re OK,” he said.

Last but not least, he plans on sending a note to the makers of his Infinity QX30, thanking them for designing a vehicle that can withstand such a collision. By the looks of the aftermath, Page tweeted that it’s “hard to not think about how badly this could’ve ended.”

“It’s just a classic example of how life can change in a minute, and for us, I think we’re lucky that there weren’t more changes,” Page said.