BRENTWOOD - Christina Blamire feared the worst when she saw a crumpled up state police cruiser smoldering in the grassy median strip along Route 101.
"I noticed the engine was smoking and the car had been crushed. My biggest fear was the fire. The car was so demolished, and I thought it would go up any second," said the 37-year-old motorist who helped rescue state Trooper Gary Ingham after he was injured in a serious accident Friday night.
The crash occurred about 9:30 p.m., when his cruiser and a tractor-trailer truck collided head-on just east of Exit 8 in Brentwood.
State police Sgt. Chris Vetter said Ingham, a K-9 trooper, and his dog, Diablo, were responding to a call in Seabrook and were traveling east on Route 101 when the cruiser suddenly crossed the median and entered westbound traffic.
The cruiser collided with a tractor-trailer truck heading west, Vetter said.
State police are investigating the cause of the accident. Vetter said he didn't know why Ingham's cruiser went into the westbound travel lane.
Blamire had been working late at Hurlbert Toyota in Epping, getting ready for a "Toys for Tots" drive at the dealership next Saturday, and was heading home to Haverhill, Mass., when she saw the police cruiser.
Blamire, who was traveling east, immediately pulled over and ran across the highway to the cruiser. She said Ingham was "completely unconscious." She said the dog also appeared unconscious at first.
"I tried talking to him, at which point he started to regain consciousness very slowly, and we noticed there was an engine fire," she said.
Other motorists began arriving to help, including a former Brentwood firefighter who found a fire extinguisher in the trunk of the cruiser and was able to put out the engine fire.
Meanwhile, Blamire removed Ingham's seatbelt and noticed that his legs were "crushed under the dash," she said. "I pulled some of the pieces of the car off and got his legs released, at which point his eyes were open and now he was starting to talk to me," Blamire said.
Diablo also regained consciousness and began barking.
Blamire said she pulled Ingham out of the cruiser and she and the ex-firefighter carried him over to another vehicle.
"He was completely delirious and very confused. He was clearly seriously injured. He was showing some serious signs of pain, so we made him sit down and wait. He just kept asking what happened. He didn't remember what happened," Blamire said.
Brentwood Fire Chief Kevin Lemoine said fire and rescue personnel arrived shortly and had to force open the doors of the cruiser to free Diablo.
The front end of the cruiser was mangled in the accident, but luckily, Vetter said, Ingham wasn't trapped inside.
"'Miraculous' is probably the only way I can describe it," Vetter said.
Lemoine said it appeared Ingham suffered head injuries, but Vetter later said the injuries "don't appear to be as serious as first reported."
Ingham, who joined the Troop A state police barracks in 2003, was flown from the scene by medical helicopter to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
State police Lt. Gary Wood on Saturday said Ingham, who is about 30 year old, suffered lacerations, bumps and bruises and was released Saturday afternoon.
Diablo also escaped serious injury. The dog was treated at the scene and is now home.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, who has not been identified, also wasn't injured.
The accident initially closed Route 101 between Exits 7 and 9, but the highway remained shut down from Exits 8 to 9 until about 5 a.m. Saturday.
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