Concord Man Accused Of 12 Miles Of Wrong-Way Impaired Driving, 2 Crashes On Interstate 93

NORTHFIELD, NH — A man from Concord was arrested on multiple charges Thursday afternoon, accused of wrong-way impaired driving, through several communities along Interstate 93.

Around 4 p.m., New Hampshire State Police began receiving reports about a pickup truck traveling north in the highway’s southbound lanes, just north of Exit 16 in Concord. Troopers began to coordinate with local agencies attempting to slow traffic along the snow-covered highway while looking for the reported wrong-way driver, according to Tyler Dumont, the public information officer for the department. More reports came in about the vehicle when a trooper encountered the pickup truck, still driving in the wrong direction.

“The trooper’s emergency lights were fully activated,” Dumont said. “However, the driver failed to stop and drove around the trooper and a line of other vehicles.”

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by the New Hampshire State Police and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the removal request process for New Hampshire Patch police reports.

Later, troopers learned the driver struck two southbound vehicles near Mile Marker 47, between Penacook and Canterbury, but did not stop, he said.

About 15 minutes later, a trooper, near Mile Marker 52 in Northfield, stopped traffic on the highway and blocked the right and breakdown lane while deploying spike strips in the left lane. The driver drove the pickup truck over the strips and “eventually stopped in the high-speed lane,” Dumont said.

The driver, Matthew Burt, 33, of Concord, was arrested on aggravated driving under the influence, two counts of felony reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, two counts of conduct after an accident, disobeying an officer, and reckless operation charges as well as a driving an unregistered vehicle violation. He was held in the Merrimack County Jail, pending arraignment.

Dumont said EMTs evaluated the drivers of two other vehicles struck during the incident as a precaution. State police also searched the area to ensure no more than two vehicles were struck during the incident, according to scanner chatter.

“The New Hampshire State Police would like to thank the many witnesses who contributed to the safe resolution of this incident,” Dumont said, “in addition to assistance from members of the Canterbury, Northfield, and Tilton police departments.”

Anyone with additional information to assist the investigation was asked to contact Trooper Ben Olmstead at benjamin.m.olmstead@dos.nh.gov.

Do you have a news tip? Please email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel. Follow the NH politics Twitter account @NHPatchPolitics for all our campaign coverage.