New Hampshire Halfway House Escapee Struck, Killed On Everett Turnpike

CONCORD, NH — A halfway house escapee, missing for a week, was found dead on the Everett Turnpike in Nashua after being struck and killed by a driver on Wednesday.

New Hampshire State Police troopers were sent to the area of Exit 6 around 10:45 p.m. for a report of a pedestrian hit on the highway. When they arrived, they found the man, later identified as Roland Labbe, 67, of Manchester, dead on the highway after being struck by a car. The driver, Saly Kruth, 53, of Lowell, Massachusetts, was driving a 2006 Toyota Corolla at the time of the accident and was taken to Southern NH Medical Center with injuries.

Troopers recognized Labbe as a recent walk away placed on escape status from the Calumet House in Manchester. On June 2, he signed out of the halfway house for an employment search at 9 a.m. and failed to return at noon, his previously scheduled time to sign back in. Labbe was incarcerated for two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault of a victim under 18 and the kidnapping of a victim under 18 in February 1996. His earliest parole eligibility date was October 2022.

State police said the right two lanes of the highway were closed for about four hours during the investigation. A report on Facebook stated all aspects of the crash were still being investigated.

Anyone with any information can contact Trooper Christopher Pieniazek at 603-223-4381 or Christopher.J.Pieniazek@dos.nh.gov.

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