Two UNH students struck by car while walking in Durham, hospitalized with injuries

DURHAM — Two 18-year-old University of New Hampshire students were hospitalized after they were struck by a vehicle while walking on Newmarket Road Saturday afternoon, according to police.

The students, Dante DiStefano, of Waltham, Massachusetts, and Colton Rubbicco, of Topsfield, Massachusetts, were both in fair condition on Saturday at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, according to spokesperson Ellen Miller. On Monday, Miller provided an update, saying DiStefano remained in the hospital in fair condition while Rubbicco had been treated and transferred.

A 78-year-old Exeter man, driving a 2011 Nissan Rogue, was traveling southbound on Newmarket Road between Laurel Lane and Bennett Road just before 3 p.m., when the vehicle crossed a solid white line and struck the two students, according to Deputy Chief David Holmstock of the Durham Police Department.

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Police said the two students were walking with a group of about six additional people on the southbound side of the road at the time of the accident.

The Nissan driver and a passenger were not injured, police said, adding they cooperated with the investigation.

Police said speed and impairment do not appear to be factors in the accident. Police are asking any witnesses with additional information to call detective Sgt. John Lavoie or detective Carrington Cazeau at 603-868-2324.

The Durham Police Department said it was assisted in its response to the accident by the Durham Fire Department, McGregor EMS, UNH Police Department, Newmarket Police Department, New Hampshire State Police's Technical Accident Reconstruction Team and Durham Public Works.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: UNH students struck by car on Newmarket Road in Durham NH