Driver Charged with DUI Following Fatal Merrimack Crash

A Nashua resident is charged with aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol following a crash in Merrimack on Friday night that left one dead.

Around 7:08 p.m. Saturday, members of the New Hampshire State Police Troop B Barracks in Bedford and the State Police Collision Analysis & Reconstruction Unit responded to the Everett Turnpike northbound in Merrimack for a 3-car motor vehicle crash. 

Responding units determined that a Mitsubishi 3000 GT operated by Nghia Huynh, 37, of Nashua had been traveling southbound and lost control, striking the center median concrete barrier and rolling over into the northbound travel lane. At the same time, a Hyundai Sonata operated by Bernd Elsner of Germany was traveling northbound and struck the Mitsubishi. A third vehicle described as a Ford Focus, operated by Patricia Poliquin, 55, of Bradford then struck the Hyundai.

The impact from the Hyundai caused fatal injuries to an unidentified young male passenger of the Mitsubishi and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Huynh was transported to Elliott Hospital and Poliquin to Catholic Medical Center to be evaluated.

State police said it appears that driver impairment may be a factor in this crash, however, the crash still remains under investigation. Huynh was arrested at the hospital and charged with felony aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol.

Agencies assisting state police at the scene included the Merrimack Police Department, the Merrimack Fire & Rescue Department, the Bedford Fire & Rescue Department, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation and the New Hampshire Medical Examiner’s Office.  

Anyone who may have further information related to this crash should contact Trooper Thomas Conlon at 603-223-8490 or by email at Thomas.Conlon@dos.nh.gov.