Traffic & Transit
Victims ID'd In Double Fatal Everett Turnpike Crash In Merrimack
Elizabeth Croke of Merrimack, Vincent Forgione of Windham died Thursday in what appears to be a head-on crash by a wrong-way truck driver.
MERRIMACK, NH — Two people were killed in what NH State Police describe as a head-on crash on the F.E. Everett Turnpike on Thursday.
Several calls came in to 911 for a two-vehicle crash on the F.E. Everett Turnpike around 12:15 a.m. The accident location was given as Mile Marker 16.6 which is about a mile south of the Bedford Toll Plaza.
When police arrived the vehicles were reportedly blocking all three travel lanes and one vehicle was reported to be engulfed in flames. Firefighters extinguished the fire and had a med flight helicopter on standby.
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The operators of both vehicles were pronounced deceased at the scene of the crash, no other occupants were in the vehicles.
According to Lt. Bryan Trask of Troop B, the crash involved a 2009 Honda Ridgeline pickup truck and a 2016 Audi Q5.
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The driver of the Honda Ridgeline pickup truck as Vincent Forgione, 24, of Windham.
The driver of the 2016 Audi Q5 has been identified as Elizabeth Croke, 20, of Merrimack.
Information at the scene and several sources indicate the Honda Ridgeline pick-up truck was traveling north in the southbound lane of the F.E. Everett Turnpike.
At 11:23 p.m. a "Be on the lookout" was issued for a pick-up truck on Route 93 with the same plates as the one involved later involved in the accident. Police were advised in a radio broadcast that the truck was operating erratically on Route 93. The accident occurred on the F.E. Everett Turnpike and it is unknown what route he traveled to get to the Everett.
Troopers from the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Team were called to the scene in order to determine exactly how the crash occurred.
Members of the Merrimack Police Department, Merrimack Fire Department, EMS, and NH DOT assisted state police. The roadway was shut down for approximately two hours while the scene was processed.
Anyone with information pertaining to this incident is encouraged to contact Tr. B. Tallon at the #NHSP Troop B Barracks at 603-223-3849 or Brendan.J.Tallon@dos.nh.gov.