Head-on collision Friday night sends 8 to area hospitals

GILFORD — Gilford Police and the Belknap Regional Accident Investigation Team are investigating a head-on collision that sent eight people to hospitals Friday night, including one who remains in critical condition.

Gilford Police and Fire departments responded to multiple 911 calls about a collision at 11:50 p.m. on May 29, on the Route 3/11 bypass, north of the Morrill Street Bridge.

According to a statement by Gilford Police, a preliminary investigation found a 2025 Ford F-150 with five people inside was driving south, and passed multiple cars "also traveling south.”

Police noted this part of the road has two southbound lanes, and one lane traveling north.

The F-150 collided head-on with a 2023 Ford Mustang, carrying two people. The collision caused the F-150 to flip onto its roof, and debris hit a 2023 Subaru Crosstrek, causing minor injury to their driver.

Fire Chief Steve Carrier said all occupants were adults, and when first responders arrived, there were still people in the truck and the Mustang. Two people in the pickup got out themselves, two others were helped out, and fire responders cut the windshield to remove one person. 

Carrier said electric rescue tools were used to access the doors of the Mustang.

All five occupants of the Ford F-150 were taken to Concord Hospital-Laconia, including one who Carrier said was “most critical.” Three had “serious or potentially serious injuries,” and another had relatively minor injuries, Carrier said.

The occupants of the Ford Mustang were taken to Concord Hospital-Concord, with potentially serious injuries. The driver of the Subaru was shaken up, but had no visible injuries, and was taken by ambulance to Concord Hospital-Franklin.

Carrier said several other drivers stopped along the road, and they received several calls to 911 about the accident.

Deputy Police Chief Dustin Parent did not know the patients' status Monday morning.

The Route 3/11 bypass has frequent car accidents, including a fatal accident on Nov. 14, 2025, where two people died: Grady Shoemaker, 20, of Laconia, and Renee Privitera, 63, of Belmont. In July 2024, Tracey MacLean, 41, of Bristol, and Mary Kalista, 68, of Farmington, died in a head-on collision on the bypass.

Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield is in charge of the accident investigation team, and said its members investigate the scene itself, and reconstruct the accident. Gilford Police would file any charges related to the crash. None had been filed as of Monday.

“It is under investigation by the accident reconstruction team, and will take a while to determine the causation,” Canfield said. “As far as dealing with any criminal investigation or anything like that, it is up to the agency where it occurs.”

Anyone with information about the accident should contact Gilford Police at 603-527-4737.