Tragic Fourth of July Week in NH

By JASON CLAFFEY
Editor, Exeter Patch and Portsmouth Patch

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

There were several deaths in crashes across the state. There were also four  drownings – three in New Hampshire and a Nashua man who drowned just over the border in Westford.

There were fatal crashes in the following communities:

• Windham: A man from Boston, Mass. was changing a flat tire on Route 93 when police said a drunk driver struck and killed him Wednesday. A woman from Concord was also seriously injured in the crash.
• Exeter: A 20-year-old man driving a motorcycle was killed after a crash with another vehicle in a residential area Friday.
• 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.
• A 26-year-old Nashua man drowned in the Merrill Quarry in Westford, Mass., on Saturday.

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