A total of seven people are dead and three injured following a horrific traffic crash in Randolph, New Hampshire. Randolph is just a few short miles north of Mount Washington and about 15 miles from the Maine state line, roughly two hours north of the state’s capital of Concord. Multiple reports say that a 2016 Dodge Ram 2500 collided with several motorcycles on Route 2 at around 6:30 p.m., Friday.
Details from New Hampshire State Police are limited, but pictures from witnesses at the scene of the accident show a massive spread of debris over the road and a Ram pickup truck ablaze with a large, empty trailer in tow. Further details will be released as authorities continue to investigate the crash.
“It’s tragic. It’s tragic for those involved, tragic for the families, so we’re doing our job, we’re doing our work and our thoughts are with the people who were adversely affected by this,” New Hampshire State Police Captain Chris Vetter said according to ABC News.
“You could see motorcycles dumped all over the road, and you could see people on the phone frantically calling, people pacing back and forth, and just, they were lost,” Miranda Thompson told local news affiliate, WMUR. Thompson is a resident in nearby Manchester. “Everybody got out of their car and helped, got blankets and first-aid kits. Everyone went into action and just helped.”
Another witness, Travis Hood, told news reporters that he was one of the people who tried to assist.
“I held his hand, and I tried to get him to, I’m like, ‘Squeeze my hand. Stay with me. You’re a strong guy. You’ve got this.’ Toward the end, when the ambulance got there, I could feel him losing strength,” Hood told reporters.
As a result of the accident, the two-lane thoroughfare remained closed as of Friday night to help investigators figure out what happened. Traffic has since been rerouted around the accident.
Jerry Hamanne, a co-owner of a bed-and-breakfast near the scene, said a doctor who was a patron immediately rushed to the scene to aid, while others chimed in to help. The crash occurred about 500 feet from the establishment.
The bed-and-breakfast was also reportedly hosting a large motorcycle rally, though it wasn’t clear if the motorcyclists involved were apart of the same group.
“This is staggering and it’s tragic beyond description,” Charlie St. Claire, executive director of the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, told the Portland Press Herald. “You have a bunch of people out for a ride enjoying one of the first nice days we had. To have this happen, it defies logic quite frankly.”
The investigation is ongoing.
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