By ANDY BATES
Enterprise Staff Writer
RAY BROOK - State Route 86 between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid had to be shut down Thursday afternoon following a motor vehicle accident involving two cars and a Coca-Cola delivery truck.
Three drivers also suffered minor injuries from the collision.
State police couldn't say how long state Route 86 was closed, but Lake Placid Fire Department officials estimated the road was closed for about an hour and 40 minutes and said traffic was backed up to the Price Chopper parking lot in Lake Placid.
According to police, Mary Preston, 30, of Lake Placid was driving a GMC Jimmy eastbound on Route 86 and failed to observe Donald Lettiere, 42, of St. James, waiting to make a left-hand turn. Preston rear-ended Lettiere, sending his 1998 Chevrolet into the westbound lane, which then struck the delivery truck being driven by Robert Griffin, 44, of Brasher Falls.
In an attempt to avoid the collision, Griffin swerved the truck into a fence and a utility pole before coming to rest on the eastbound shoulder of the road.
Preston was transported to Adirondack Medical Center in Lake Placid for pain in her shoulder and upper arm. Griffin and Preston were both transported to AMC in Saranac Lake for pain in the abdomen and pain in the hip, respectively.
Preston was also ticketed by state police for following too closely.
Lake Placid and Saranac Lake volunteer fire departments and rescue squads responded to the scene, with Lake Placid contributing three trucks and 28 members and Saranac Lake contributing three trucks and 17 members.
Lake Placid volunteers also used 200 gallons of water to extinguish a small fire on the scene.
