A deadly year on the roads of New Hampshire got even deadlier Sunday when four more people were killed in Salem and Nashua crashes.
Three people died in a single-car crash on the southbound off-ramp of Exit 2 on Interstate 93 in Salem on Sunday afternoon, according to New Hampshire State Police. A Merrimack man died early Sunday in a crash near Exit 8 of the F.E. Everett Turnpike in Nashua.
In Salem, the driver, Rodney J. Dore, 71, of Pelham, and two passengers were killed just after 2 p.m. when an SUV went off the right side of the road and struck a culvert. The passengers killed were Anne J. Dore, 70, also of Pelham, and Lisana M. Alexander, 45, of Salem.
The Nashua crash victim was a 44-year-old Merrimack man, Christopher Duval, who was pronounced dead at the scene around 1 a.m.
Motor vehicle fatalities in 2024 have outpaced 2023, when 127 people died in crashes statewide. More than 100 people had died in crashes by the end of September. Updated traffic death numbers won’t be available until Monday, said Tyler Dumont, spokesman for State Police and the Department of Safety.
Salem deaths
All three people who died in Salem were traveling in the same car, a white 2012 Kia Sorento, police said. The crash was reported at 2:02 p.m. near Exit 2 of I-93 and the off-ramp to Pelham Road. The location is just north of the Mall at Rockingham Park.
All three were pronounced dead at the scene after the SUV went off the right side of the road and struck a culvert, police said. The Kia was the only vehicle involved in the crash.
Traffic was partially shut down while state troopers investigated the crash and the scene was cleared. The off-ramp was expected to open fully by 6 p.m., officials said. Troopers continue to investigate the cause of the crash. Anyone with information can call Trooper Mark Lingerman at 603-223-4381 or email mark.n.lingerman@dos.nh.gov.
Nashua crash
Duval was the sole occupant of a 2019 Kia Sorento that crashed near the center median barrier north of Exit 8, State Police said.
Investigators said Duval lost control of the Kia, which crossed multiple lanes before hitting the barrier head-on while he was driving north toward Merrimack. No other cars were involved.
Two northbound lanes were closed for about two hours while troopers investigated and the scene was cleared of debris.
Nashua Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Eric Tremblay said the department received an emergency call at 1:08 a.m. reporting the crash, and dispatched an engine, ladder truck and an AMR ambulance to the scene.
He said the Kia came to rest against the Tinker Road overpass after crashing into the median barrier.
Crews used hydraulic rescue tools to reach Duval, but he was pronounced dead once he was extricated. State Police are investigating the cause. Witnesses should call 603-223-4381 or email Madelynn.M.Davis@dos.nh.gov.
After three deaths in major crashes on Interstate 95 in October, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation announced it’s planning to install a system of cable barriers to prevent cars from crossing over the median into incoming traffic.
State officials also said they will increase surveillance of speeders and add markers and signs around curves in roads.
“It’s always the same thing — people are driving too fast for the conditions, they’re distracted or they’re impaired,” State Police Lt. Chris Storm said in September. “Unfortunately, we continue to see those trends going up.”
Correspondent Dean Shalhoup contributed to this report.
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