Man Dies in Keene, NH Crash

One man is dead, and three others are injured, after a serious three car crash in Keene, New Hampshire. The accident occurred on Route 9 on the afternoon of Monday, June 28.

Seventy-eight-year-old Patrick D. Smith, of East Swanzey, was killed when his Subaru crossed over Route 9 into a Yukon Denali SUV going the other way, pushing the Denali into a truck stopped at a stop sign on Base Hill Road.

Riding in the Denali were Richard D. Clark, 34, of Townshend, Vermont, and Kristine Mayotte, 30, of Putney, VT, as well as children Terry Clark, 2, Patricia Clark, 7, and Gabriel Clark, 9. All were treated for minor injuries.

Theresa Vesper and her husband Richard Vesper, who were in the truck, were not hurt in the crash. All those injured in the accident were transported to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, where Smith was later pronounced dead.

"Traffic was moving and the last vehicle [the Denali] was coming, and the older gentleman in the Subaru just gunned it to get across [Route 9]," Vesper said. "I couldn't believe it. He hit [the Denali] and bounced right off it and then [the Denali] ran into me."

The crash seemed to be a case of driver error, and there did not appear to be any mechanical failures at play. It is not yet known whether alcohol played a part in the crash.

Our sympathies go out to all those affected by the crash, and we hope that no lasting injuries were sustained by the children involved in the accident. We also hope New Hampshire drivers always remember to merge safely onto dangerous roads like Route 9.