Mass. Man Loses His Life in Fiery NH Crash

MANCHESTER, NH — A Bay State man lost his life this morning after striking two vehicles on I-93 North and then driving his pickup truck off an embankment leading to him being ejected from the vehicle and a fire crash, according to New Hampshire State Police. Byran Martinez, 36, of Hingham, MA, succumbed to his injuries after being pulled from the vehicle by troopers who attempted to revive him using CPR.

State troopers were first alerted to a problem at just after 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 27, 2016, after receiving a report of a vehicle – a 2011 Dodge Ram pickup – traveling north on I-93 in Salem that was “swerving from side to side on the highway preventing other vehicles from passing it,” according to Sgt. Marc Beaudoin of the NHSP.

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In Salem, according to police, the pickup struck two other vehicles but continued driving north. Salem Police attempted to assist at the scene because troopers were not immediately available at the time.

However, a trooper later spotted the vehicle near Exit 4 in Londonderry and attempted to stop it but the driver refused to stop, according to Beaudoin. Another trooper was positioned at Exit 5 but was unable to deploy spike strips since the pickup's headlines were not on and he couldn’t see the truck. The other trooper, according to Beaudoin, continued to follow and alleged that the vehicle was driving erratically and quickly increased its speed to about 100 mph just before the interchange with I-293.

At the I-93, I-293 split, the pickup truck reportedly lost control, left the roadway, traveled down an embankment, and struck several trees. The driver – Martinez – was ejected from the vehicle, according to NHSP, and the pickup caught on fire.

"(The) troopers dragged the driver away from the vehicle, which became fully engulfed in flames and also caught the surrounding trees on fire,” according to Beaudoin. “Emergency medical personnel were requested and eventually responded to the scene. While waiting for the medical personnel to arrive, both troopers performed CPR on the driver, but he later succumbed to his injuries at the scene.”

Neither drugs nor alcohol appear to be factors in the crash but Martinez was not wearing a seatbelt, which caused the ejection, Beaudoin stated.

The New Hampshire State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit responded to the scene to investigate the collision. Troopers from Troop B were aided by fellow troopers from Troop D, the NH State Police CAR Unit, the Salem Police Department, the Manchester Fire and Rescue Department, and AMR Ambulance Service.

Anyone that may have further information related to this crime please contact Sergeant Christopher Storm at 603-223-4381 or email at christopher.storm@dos.nh.gov.

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