Tragic Fourth of July Week in NH

This article was posted by Dan Tuohy and reported by Jason Claffey.

It was a tragic week on the roads and waterways of New Hampshire during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

There were several deaths in crashes across the state. There were also three drownings. Fatal crashes happened in the following communities:

• Exeter: A 20-year-old man driving a motorcycle was killed after a crash with another vehicle in a residential area Friday.
  
• Windham: A man from Boston, Mass. was changing a flat tire on I-93 when police said a drunk driver struck and killed him Wednesday.
• Epsom: An 18-year-old died after leading a police cruiser on a chase Sunday.

A motorcyclist was also seriously injured in a crash on Route 101 in Hampton Sunday after police said he failed to slow down coming up to a toll plaza.

Drownings happened in the following communities:

• Concord: A 59-year-old man drowned in the Merrimack River Friday.
• Boscawen: A 20-year-old man drowned in the Merrimack River Saturday.
• Newton: An 18-year-old from Massachusetts drowned at Country Pond Saturday.

State Police also arrested 28 drivers for DWI from Thursday through Sunday.