3-car crash in Tilton sends 1 to hospital with serious injuries after being trapped under tree

TILTON — A Florida resident was cited after a three-car crash where one driver was hospitalized to treat what Tilton-Northfield Fire Chief Sean Valovanie called “serious and possibly life-threatening injuries.”

According to a report from State Police, troopers from Troop D responded to a crash involving three vehicles on Interstate 93 South, near mile marker 58, on Sunday.

A preliminary investigation found Dinah Tague, 76, of Kissimmee, Florida, was driving a Ford Focus and hit a Toyota 4Runner. The driver of the Toyota lost control and went into the woods. A tree fell on the SUV, and trapped the driver inside.

Tague allegedly continued driving, and rear-ended a Dodge Ram 1500, before going off the road and into the trees.

According to Valovanie, his crew was called for a vehicle accident with someone trapped in their car. He said they were initially told it was a single-vehicle accident, but while en route, found out it was three accidents at three locations.

Valovanie said they came across the first vehicle off the road, which was damaged, and the driver trapped inside under a downed tree. He said the first engine carries a combi tool that can spread and cut vehicles open to help people get out, but in this case, the ladder truck was needed for a bigger spreader to help the driver out of the car.

“We had to use heavy extrication that required all of our hydraulic equipment,” Valovanie said.

Tilton-Northfield Fire and EMS had three paramedics handling the accident due to the severity of the driver's injuries. Valovanie said the Toyota driver had a severe injury to the leg, and also injuries to the pelvis and head. The patient was taken by ambulance to Concord Hospital-Concord to be treated.

The second companies took care of the other accidents, and an ambulance from the Sanbornton Fire Department was there to assist. Valovanie said the vehicles were separated by about 1,000 feet, which made it difficult on the busy highway.

“A thousand feet is a long way away on the highway,” Valovanie said. “So, we had to treat it as two separate incidents.”

Tague, as well as the driver of the Dodge Ram, were evaluated at the scene but declined to be taken to the hospital. Tague was issued a summons for speeding, following too closely, going over the yellow line, and negligent driving, all moving violations.

Troop D troopers were assisted by troopers from Troop E, along with fire departments from Tilton-Northfield and Sanbornton.

The accidents are under investigation by State Police, and anyone with information should contact Trooper Tyler Griffin at Tyler.L.Griffin@dos.nh.gov.