Two Serious Injuries in Richfield Work Zone Crash

New York State Police are investigating an accident in a construction zone in Tompkins County that sent three people to the hospital September 16.

Authorities say a forklift truck traveling in the area of a bridge reconstruction on Bower Road in Newfield may have suffered a mechanical problem, causing the driver to have no control of the vehicle as it barreled into the construction area where workers were replacing a culvert that had been damaged by flooding in June.

Two pedestrians on the scene suffered serious injury while the truck driver was said to have a minor injury. One of the people was a resident who may have been observing or actually doing shared work to help with the project.

The conditions of the two pedestrians, who were airlifted to a nearby hospital and their names, have not been released.

The accident happened about 11 a.m.