N.H. police say drunk driver intentionally caused fatal collision

Crime

The man was allegedly driving drunk and intentionally caused a head-on collision with a motorcycle, according to police.

A New Hampshire 19-year-old is facing charges including negligent homicide after a fatal motor vehicle collision Wednesday night, police said.

John Burke, of Hudson, N.H., is charged with reckless manslaughter, negligent homicide, vehicular assault, first-degree assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated driving under intoxication causing serious bodily injury, reckless conduct of a deadly weapon, and witness tampering after he allegedly caused an intentional head-on collision with a motorcycle, the Litchfield Police Department said on Facebook.

At about 9:17 p.m., officers responded to a motor vehicle crash on Route 102 between Cutler Road and Woodburn Road, where they found a Toyota Corolla and a Mitsubishi Outlander that had been involved in a head-on collision, the department said.

Officers found a motorcycle in the woods by the side of the road and an unresponsive man wearing a helmet on the shoulder of the road. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The driver of the Mitsubishi was treated at the scene for minor injuries, according to police. The driver of the Toyota, later identified as Burke, was taken to Southern New Hampshire Medical Center and treated for minor injuries.

Using witness statements and physical evidence, Litchfield police and New Hampshire State Police determined that the collision between the Toyota and the motorcycle was intentional, Litchfield police said. The subsequent crash involving the Mitsubishi was determined to be unintentional and occurred as the driver swerved to miss the motorcycle, which slid into her lane, the department said.

Burke was allegedly driving under the influence at the time of the collision, according to police. He was arraigned Thursday at Merrimack District Court.

The identity of the man who died is being withheld until his family is notified, according to Litchfield police. The New Hampshire Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was scheduled to conduct an autopsy Thursday.

Anyone with any information about the crashes is asked to contact the Litchfield Police Department.