Man, 76, dies after 5-car crash: Brentwood chief urges state leaders to make Rt. 125 safer
BRENTWOOD — Police say a man hospitalized in a five-vehicle collision Monday has died from his injuries and charges are expected against the driver who they allege caused the crash.
Brentwood Police Chief John Ventura said the 76-year-old man from Plaistow died Wednesday morning. He was brought to Portsmouth Regional Hospital after the crash. His name was not immediately released to give the family time to grieve, according to Ventura.
The crash was caused at 9 a.m. Monday when police say a woman driving a truck passed two vehicles going northbound on Route 125 near the South Road intersection, a notorious spot for car crashes, according to Ventura.
He said the woman in the truck then rear-ended a tractor-trailer that was turning left into a business. That caused her truck to go into the other lane where a southbound driver veered to avoid hitting her, only to collide head-on with the vehicle of the man who died, Ventura said.
Ventura said the Rockingham County attorney’s office is determining which charges will be filed against the driver, adding they will be announced soon. He has said alcohol and drugs are not believed to be factors in the crash.
Ventura said he has been trying to get the attention of state officials to address safety concerns on Route 125, which has seen crashes for years along its corridor from Plaistow to Milton. New Hampshire State Police announced earlier this year they planned to patrol it with a higher presence this year in reaction to safety concerns.
Previous story: Nearly 5,000 crashes in 9 years on Route 125. NH police step up patrols.
Brentwood chief pushes state leaders for Route 125 safety improvements
Ventura said residents have expressed concern for the safety on the road, including after last September’s crash near the same intersection that killed a motorcyclist. He said he has been in contact with Executive Councilor Janet Stevens and Department of Safety officials about solutions. Stevens and other officials, including the commissioner of the Department of Transportation, attended a public forum on safety in Brentwood earlier this year, Ventura said.
Ventura said he emailed Stevens Wednesday morning informing her of the fatality and that change is needed on Route 125.
“She called me right back,” Ventura said. Stevens told him she had a call into the governor’s office.
“This is her top priority infrastructure project, is what she’s iterated to me,” Ventura said. “I intimated I would be her squeaky wheel from here forward.”
Ventura said affecting change at the state level is a challenge. He is determined to get attention paid to Route 125 so that locals can worry less about losing their loved ones on that busy road.
“Time is of the essence,” Ventura said. “I can’t keep telling families about people who lost their lives on this highway because the state couldn’t get their act together.”
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Fatal crash on Route 125 in Brentwood: Chief calls for safety changes
