Manchester Man Charged With Drunk Driving After Fiery I-93 Crash

CANTERBURY, NH — A Manchester man is lucky to be alive after being pulled from a burning car by a good Samaritan and a New Hampshire State Trooper after it crashed into trees Saturday on Interstate 93 in Canterbury.

Around 6:45 p.m., state police received numerous calls about a car driving north on the highway "in a reckless manner" with the driver "having trouble keeping the vehicle in its own lane," according to Sgt. Greg De Luca of Troop D in Concord.

A trooper saw the vehicle, accused the driver of having "lane control issues," and clocked it driving 85 mph in a 70 zone. The trooper began following the vehicle and later, it veered to its left and drove off the highway.

"The vehicle crashed into the trees and caught on fire in the area of I-93 north in the town of Canterbury," De Luca said.

The trooper following the vehicle pulled the driver, Vito Paulino, 43, of Manchester from the burning car with the help of a good Samaritan who was driving by at the time.

"After further investigation, it was determined (Paulino) was impaired," De Luca said.

Paulino was charged with driving while intoxicated and taken to Concord Hospital by Penacook rescue for observation while Canterbury firefighters extinguished the vehicle — which was fully engulfed in flames.

I-93 was shut down for a short time and then, reopened to one lane.

Paulino, according to a prior post on Patch, was arrested in Manchester about three years ago on child endangerment charges after he was accused of abandoning his children and staggering away from them along a Manchester street while intoxicated on drugs. In that case, other good Samaritans sheltered the children inside a local pizzeria while calling police.

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.

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