The Labor Day Parade attracts thousands of people to Main Street, where they watch scores of marching units pass by in the annual event celebrating Newtown at the end of the summer season.three hikers who had gotten lost in Lower Paugussett State Forest in Sandy Hook.

On Monday, September 4, paradegoers witnessed more than usual, as they watched a motor vehicle accident occur within the parade at the intersection of Main Street and Glover Avenue.

That incident at 11:52 am was one of many incidents that occurred in town during the day, keeping local emergency services staffers quite busy. That call was the first of ten ambulance calls between then and 9:24 pm, when ambulance volunteers were called to help with

Also, during the afternoon, two motor vehicle accidents occurred, both on Berkshire Road (Route 34). Overall on September 4, there were nine local fire calls.

The Pyramid Shriners Motor Patrol is a popular unit in the parade. The Shriners are a charitable group that raises money to help children with health problems. In the parade, the Shriners drive a fleet of tiny red cars powered by small gasoline engines and perform intricate maneuvers.

However, one of the tiny cars driven by an unidentified Shriner apparently lost its brakes as it traveled downhill on Main Street toward the intersection with Glover Avenue. Realizing there was the prospect of colliding with some spectators, its unidentified driver apparently turned the car's steering wheel sharply and intentionally flipped over the tiny car, thus avoiding contact with people standing nearby.

Besides the ambulance volunteers who responded, members of the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company and Newtown Hook & Ladder volunteer firefighters went to the man's aid. The Sandy Hook volunteers had been marching in the parade near the Shriners.

Police did not categorize the incident as a "motor vehicle accident," but as a "medical assist," and thus did not provide details.

The man who was driving the tiny car reportedly received minor injuries and was later checked by his doctor.

In another emergency call at 12:14 pm, ambulance staffers responded to a two-vehicle accident on Berkshire Road, near its intersection with Sherman Street.

Police report that motorist Jacqueline Seras, 16, of Sandy Hook, who was driving a 2012 Honda Accord eastward, stopped and had the left-turn signal blinking, when the Honda was struck from behind by eastbound motorist Alexander Street, 17, of Sandy Hook, who was driving a 2004 Acura MDX SUV.

That impact caused the Honda to spin counterclockwise, resulting in the Honda's rear passenger side striking a tree, police said.

Ambulance corps members evaluated both drivers and released them at the scene, according to police. Sandy Hook firefighters also responded to the accident. Street received an infraction for following too closely.

Later that afternoon, at about 2:37 pm, about 4,000 feet to the west on Berkshire Road, another two-vehicle accident occurred, this time involving a motorcyclist. The ambulance corps responded, as did Sandy Hook volunteer firefighters, and police.

Police said motorist Nancy Kennedy, 82, of Monroe was driving a 2012 Ford Fiesta eastward on Berkshire Road, near its intersection with Pole Bridge Road. Kennedy stopped the Ford, after which eastbound motorcyclist Scott Fabrizio, 54, of Trumbull, who was riding a 2001 Harley-Davidson, struck the rear end of the Ford.

Police said that Fabrizio had intentionally dropped the motorcycle to the ground and came off of it during the collision. The ambulance corps transported Fabrizio to Danbury Hospital for treatment, police said. Police verbally warned Fabrizio for failure to drive a reasonable distance apart.

Also, at 8:23 pm, Sandy Hook firefighters were dispatched on a rescue call to find three unidentified hikers who had become lost at night in the sprawling Lower Paugussett State Forest. The hikers had wandered off a trail in the woods and became lost. Ambulance personnel were called to the forest at 9:24 pm. Town police and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection police officers also participated.

Two men and one woman were found and then brought out of the woods during the incident that lasted more than two hours. One of the men was transported to Danbury Hospital.