Two crashes shut down Spaulding Turnpike in Rochester. Wrecker driver charged.

ROCHESTER — Two people were injured and the Spaulding Turnpike was shut down following two consecutive crashes Tuesday shortly after 2 p.m., according to New Hampshire State Police.

The first accident involved a southbound 2022 Freightliner flatbed wrecker, operated by a 41-year-old Dover man. Police said he lost control of the vehicle and veered into the center median, hit the guardrail, went across the northbound travel lanes and into a wooded area adjacent to the highway after hitting several trees. The man was sent to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said, and was charged with a violation-level offense of negligent driving and several other violations.

The second accident was a collision involving a a 2015 Ford Edge, driven by a 54-year-old Dover woman. The vehicle struck the rear of a 2022 Ford Maverick driven by a 74-year-old Rochester woman on the southbound side of the highway. The Dover woman was sent to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries, police said. The Rochester woman and a passenger were not injured.

All but one lane on the northbound side of the highway were closed for two hours. The southbound side was closed entirely for about 45 minutes, police said. Debris in the highway and the investigation by police were factors. One lane on the southbound side remained closed for an additional hour due to guardrail damage.

State Police ask anyone with information to email investigating Trooper Daniel Bourque at Daniel.J.Bourque@dos.nh.gov or Trooper John Harris at John.M.Harris@dos.nh.gov.

Multiple other agencies assisted, police said, naming the Rochester Fire Department, Frisbie Memorial Hospital Emergency Medical Services, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Dover Paint & Varnish, Rochester Truck and Eddie B’s Towing & Recovery.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Two crashes shut down Spaulding Turnpike in Rochester; driver charged