Rochester dump truck driver held in fatal Ossipee crash

OSSIPEE — A dump truck driver from Rochester was denied bail by a circuit judge Monday after he was charge in a crash last Friday in which he rolled his truck, killing an 80-year old woman from Ossipee.

On May 16 at around 11:47 a.m., Ossipee officers responded to a report of a collision on Route 28. A preliminary investigation showed that a 2005 Mack dump truck, driven by Robert Gifford, 54, of Rochester, collided with a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe driven by Dorothy Marshall, 80, of Ossipee.

Investigators determined that Gifford was traveling north on Route 28 when he lost control of the truck, which rolled over and struck Marshall’s southbound SUV. Gifford was uninjured. Marshall was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries sustained in the crash.

Gifford was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated driving while intoxicated. One count, for allegedly killing Marshall, is a Class B felony punishable by up to seven years in prison, while the other is a misdemeanor, punishable by a year in jail, for allegedly driving a vehicle that weighs over 10,001 pounds while intoxicated.

He was being held at the Carroll County jail and had an arraignment and bail hearing on Monday in front of Circuit Judge Leslie Leonard, who was a Cooper Cargill Chant attorney in North Conway before being elevated to the bench in December.

Leonard said: “I’m going to order that Mr. Gifford remain in preventative detention,” adding she would allow him to leave jail if he gets into a residential treatment facility.

Later, she ruled his bail would revert to personal recognizance if he’s admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility.

Deputy County Attorney Kim Tessarri said Gifford could be a flight risk and that he was a danger to the community. Public Defender Jacob Watts entered a not guilty plea to the misdemeanor and no plea on the felony, as felony pleas are entered at Superior Court.

Tessari said: “The charges the defendant faces are among the most serious under motor vehicle and criminal homicide statutes. The defendant while operating a CDL (commercial driver’s license) vehicle is alleged to have driven under the influence of drugs caused a motor vehicle accident, resulting in the death of another individual.

“It’s a felony level offense, and the state does want to put the court on notice that we intend to file negligent homicide charges in this case, and additionally, possession of a controlled substance charges,” she said.

Tessari said Gifford has significant ties to Massachusetts and put a Massachusetts address on his bail form.

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“The defendant’s conduct demonstrates a blatant disregard for the safety of others, particularly trouble in giving the operation of a Commercial Motor Vehicle, which has heightened responsibilities and a lot more potential harm,” said Tessari.

Tessari said the truck weighs 60,000 pounds empty, a standard car weighs 2,500 pounds and a SUV weighs about 6,000. At the time of the crash the dump truck was hauling dirt and rocks that spilled. She said drug paraphernalia were taken off of his person.

According to Tessari, Gifford appeared to be “on the nod” from drug use with symptoms like slow response to questions and slow pupillary response to light. According to the state police, affidavit, a glass pipe that looked like it was used to smoke crack cocaine was in his pants pocket as were two dollar bills rolled into a tube and possibly used for smoking fentanyl.

She said Gifford caused the crash.

“There’s no other cause to this accident. It was a clear, sunny day. The road is straight. They ruled out distracted driving. He indicated to the trooper that he’d had a full 10 hours of sleep the night before. There was no debris, nothing in the roadway that anyone noticed,” said Tessari. “So, the state believes that it has a very strong case, that the evidence presented will show that he was the main cause of the accident and that it was due to impairment.”

She said Gifford had six prior motor vehicle crashes on his driving record.

Watts asked Leonard to release Gifford on personal recognizance. Watts denied that Gifford is a fight risk and said Gifford has an apartment in New Hampshire. As for danger, Gifford has no prior DWI convictions. Watts said Gifford is “incredibly remorseful.”

“Mr. Gifford currently has a 6-month-old daughter with his girlfriend, who he works to support financially,” said Watts. “She does the full-time child care of that daughter. He has a job. He can’t go back to driving, obviously, but doing construction work. He’s a union worker. He should be able to get work, and he’s the one who does the sole financial support.”

Due to the severity of the crash, police requested assistance from the state police. Troopers from Troop E and Troop G, along with members of the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction (C.A.R.) Unit, responded to the scene.

Route 28 was closed for approximately 7.5 hours emergency crews worked to clear the scene. Assisting at the scene were the Ossipee police, Ossipee Corner Fire and Rescue, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and Wolfeboro Police Department.

Anyone with information about last Friday’s crash should contact State Trooper First Class Dan Quartulli at daniel.r.quartulli@dos.nh.gov.