A local author was recovering from surgery for injuries resulting from a three-car accident in Woodbury, a relative said Thursday.
Bertha Rogers, 71, of Treadwell, had surgery Wednesday when three pins were placed in her legs, which were broken in the accident on Tuesday night, her husband, Ernest Fishman, said.
Rogers had severe injuries, the Woodbury Police Department said in a media release. She was trapped inside her vehicle, police said, and emergency crews used the Jaws of Life to extricate her, after which she was flown by Stat Flight helicopter to Westchester Medical Center, police said.
Rogers is known for her poetry, literary projects and the Bright Hill Press in Treadwell, Delaware County.
On Tuesday night, Rogers was driving to New York City to spend the night before going to teach at a school in Queens, Fishman said. The school’s principal was “bereft’’ at the news of her accident when he called Wednesday morning, he said.
Fishman, 83, said he has spoken by telephone with Rogers, who is improving and was able to sit in a chair Thursday. The couple will be looking for openings in a rehabilitation center to further her recovery, he said.
Woodbury police said Thursday that no tickets have been issued and the accident remains under investigation.
Police gave the following report of the accident:
At 6:10 p.m. Tuesday, Andrea Coleman, 45, of Monroe, was driving west on state Route 6, and she told police she was distracted by glare from the sun and drove into the back of another car driven by Matthew Yeager, 24, of Middletown.
Yeager’s vehicle crossed over the double lines into the east bound lane, striking Rogers’ car. Yeager’s vehicle caught fire, and the blaze was extinguished by an unknown passerby. Yeager, whose injuries were minor, was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, where he was treated and released, Lt. Arthur P. Abbott of the town of Woodbury Police Department said.
Police were assisted at the scene by the Woodbury Fire Department, Woodbury Volunteer Ambulance Corp. and Kiryas Joel Ambulance.
