Man Involved In Double-Fatal Crash Charged With DWI After ODing In Concord: Cops

CONCORD, NH — A local man allegedly nodding off while slumped behind the wheel at a stop sign on South Street was arrested last week, according to Concord Police. Jacob Veroneau, 21, of the Hooksett Turnpike in Concord, was arrested at 6:11 p.m. on June 21, 2017, for driving while intoxicated. According to an arrest report, officers were sent to the intersection of South and Wilson streets to investigate an impaired driver complaint.

Editor’s Note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Concord Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the name removal request process for NH Patch police reports.

Officers were told by dispatch that a reporting party alleged that there was a needle on the driver’s lap when they encountered the vehicle, they got the driver out of the vehicle, and took away the keys, according to a report.

When they arrived, the reporting officer spoke to the complainant who alleged that at just after 6 p.m., he was driving east on Wilson Avenue when he saw a Volkswagen Jetta stopped at the stop sign. The complainant watched as vehicles reportedly passed the Jetta as it remained in the lane. Another driver in a pickup truck reportedly told the complainant that it appeared that the driver was not coherent, according to the report.

The complainant stopped and went over to speak to the driver and noted that he “was slumped over and appeared to be nodding off.” They reportedly shook the driver’s shoulder and asked him if he was OK. The driver – later identified as Veroneau – allegedly “woke up and reached to start the car.” The complainant also allegedly saw a syringe on Veroneau’s lap with blood visible inside, the report stated.

“(The complainant) stated that he grabbed it from Veroneau’s lap and tossed it into the back seat,” the report alleged, and then took his keys away.

The reporting officer spoke with Veroneau about the incident.

Veroneau was given a field sobriety test and then was arrested. He was processed and released on personal recognizance bail. Veroneau is due in court on July 11.

Earlier, dispatch took a report about a man “shooting up” in the parking lot of the Rite Aid Pharmacy mere blocks away from where Veroneau was allegedly nodding off. The caller from that incident reported that the vehicle was a sedan with a white male driver. They left the scene before calling 911, according to the report.

Previous Crash Took Two Lives

Veroneau, who was 17 at the time, was involved in a crash that took the lives of two people in October 2012 – Jesse Wolfe, 31, of Concord, and Kyara Mailhot, 7, of Manchester.

Veroneau was driving an SUV east on Clinton Street at the same time Wolfe pulled out onto the street from Iron Works Road. The conditions of the road were wet and the air mass was foggy, causing difficult visibility. The road was closed for a number of hours during the police investigation.

Wolfe perished from injuries due to the crash later that evening; Mailhot succumbed to her injuries less than two weeks later. Others were also injured in the accident.

An investigation into the crash later revealed that Veroneau had reportedly been texting just before the crash. He was charged with a felony falsifying evidence charge on April 1, 2013, after police alleged that he deleted text messages from his phone sometime after the accident after detectives made inquiries into his texting activity.

Veroneau, however, was never charged with negligent homicide or manslaughter due to a police investigation that was unable to determine fault, which upset some family members of the victims. At the time, a number of them made comments on Patch accusing police and the city prosecutor's office of not moving forward with more serious charges because the case involved the grandson of former City Councilor and Concord Mayor William Veroneau, who served between 1985 and 2001.

Police, however, eyed three potential conclusions for the cause of the crash: Wolfe failing to yield when turning from Iron Works Road onto Clinton Street before being struck by Veroneau’s SUV; weather conditions – heavy rain and fog – hindering both drivers; and Veroneau being distracted by the texting and causing the accident. Investigators believed that Veroneau was texting before the accident but couldn’t determine if the process of texting caused the accident or that a crime took place. A police spokesman at the time stated that the investigation was “very thorough” but that it remained open with investigators asking members of the public to come forward with any other information about the case so more charges could be filed.

About $3,000 was raised later, in honor Mailhot, for a children’s charity fund.

Flipping a Jeep in Hooksett

Veroneau was back in the headlines in the summer of 2015, after state police were sent to a crash on I-93 involving a flipped over Jeep in Hooksett. According to state troopers, Veroneau lost control of the vehicle, rolling it over, after exiting the highway from the Exit 9N off-ramp around just before 6:30 a.m. on July 10, 2015. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and investigators alleged that speed may have been a factor. It is unknown if charges were ever filed in the case.