Late-season snow leaves roads slick, making for dangerous travel in Lakes Region and dozen accidents

Lakes Region police and firefighters were busy over the weekend, responding to accidents largely caused by the inclement weather Sunday.

Laconia

Laconia Fire and Police Departments responded to a single-vehicle rollover accident at 3:38 a.m. on March 22, on Parade Road. Fire Chief Tim Joubert said there was heavy damage to the car, and the airbag deployed, but no one was taken to the hospital.

Joubert was unsure of the cause of the accident.

Belmont

Police Chief Steve Akerstrom said at 12:23 p.m. on March 22, a vehicle went off the road and slid into a parked car, on Bean Hill Road. No injuries were reported.

New Hampton

Fire Chief Scott Cathy said his department responded to three weather-related accidents on March 22, assisted by Ashland and Bristol fire departments.

One accident was south of Exit 23, between New Hampton and Sanbornton, at 8:46 a.m., and another occurred on the bridge near the exit at 10:21 a.m. These were both single-car accidents, and no one was taken to the hospital.

New Hampton Fire Department also responded to an accident involving two vehicles between Exit 23 and 24, in the northbound lane of Interstate 93, at 3:20 p.m.

No injuries were reported, but all accidents required vehicles to be towed from the scene.

State Police also responded to each accident, and Public Information Officer Tyler Dumont confirmed they were minor.

Sanbornton

The Sunday weather also caused headaches further up the highway. Sanbornton Fire Department responded to one minor accident on Interstate 93 Northbound, near mile marker 63, at 8:06 a.m. No injuries were reported.

During this accident, Sanbornton Fire was dispatched to assist New Hampton Fire with an accident at mile marker 68, at about 8:45 a.m. While on the way, they were redirected to mile marker 66, instead. Chief Paul Dexter said an engine with off-duty personnel responded, but didn’t find any accident.

Dexter said the weather caused problems in the area early, with slippery conditions, but the rest of the day was quiet.

“Things froze up pretty quick, with temperatures hovering between 29 or 30,” Dexter said. “It turned over to sleet and greased everything up.”

Police Chief Steve Hankard noted I-93 was “unusually bad” on Sunday morning, which likely led to the accidents.

Hankard also said there were a pair of weather-related accidents in town involving vehicles off the road, one at noon on Burleigh Hill Road, and another at 5 p.m. on Knox Mountain Road. These were both minor and did not require anyone to be taken to the hospital.

Tilton-Northfield

Fire Chief Sean Valovanie reported three accidents over the weekend. One in Northfield was caused by the wintry mix on Sunday afternoon.

Tilton-Northfield Fire and EMS responded to a two-car accident in the area of 314 Laconia Road in Tilton, at 10:08 a.m. on March 21. Crews arrived on-scene at 10:17 a.m. to find one of the vehicles crashed into a utility pole, which was broken and laying in the road. An Eversource bucket truck was already at the scene to remove electrical hazards.

Valovanie said the road was closed in both directions, which “created quite a traffic jam.” The scene was cleared at 10:57 a.m., and the roadway was shut down for less than an hour.

Both drivers, who were the only ones in the vehicles, did not need to be taken to the hospital.

There was a head-on collision at the entrance of the southbound ramp of I-93 in Tilton, at 8:47 p.m. on March 21. Crews arrived at 8:51 p.m. to find one car's electric locks were not working, and broken a window to free the driver.

The driver was taken to Concord Hospital-Franklin with non-life-threatening injuries. The other driver was uninjured, and signed a waiver refusing medical evaluation. The scene was cleared at 9:17 p.m.

Tilton-Northfield Fire, along with State Police, responded to a single-car accident on I-93 South in Northfield, at 4:53 p.m. on March 22. A vehicle went off the right side of the highway and hit a tree, causing damage to the passenger side, and an airbag went off.

Valovanie said initial reports came in about “serious bleeding and entrapment,” but when firefighters arrived, two patients had gotten out of the car themselves. They were both taken by ambulance to Concord Hospital-Franklin with non-life-threatening injuries.