WINDHAM, N.H. (AP) – New Hampshire State Police have arrested a Massachusetts man after he allegedly drove drunk the wrong way down Interstate 93.
Louis St. Pierre of Salem, Mass., 60, faces charges of felony drunken driving and felony reckless conduct. Police say he drove the wrong way down I-93 about 10 p.m. Saturday. His alleged wrong-way trip caused several accidents.
According to police, St. Pierre entered I-93 at Exit 3 in Windham and started traveling north in the southbound lanes.
He immediately caused two cars to collide in their attempts to avoid St. Pierre’s 1997 Toyota Camry, police said. There were no serious injuries in that crash, but one of the cars was badly damaged.
Two more cars drove off the road to avoid St. Pierre’s car. His ride finally ended when he hit Nicole Damours’ 2007 Impreza.
Damours, 23, of Bedford, was hospitalized and had to have surgery on her left leg, which was broken in the crash. She also suffered cuts on both legs. She was in stable condition.
Rocha, 24, of Nashua, said St. Pierre’s car was straddling the breakdown lane next to the passing lane when the cars collided.
“The next thing, there was just headlights,” said, Rocha, who suffered minor injuries. “Our car spun 360 degrees.”
The accident shut down the left lane of I-93 south for more than an hour, causing a four-mile traffic jam.
St. Pierre, who was not wearing a seat belt, was treated at a hospital and released. He was being held at the Rockingham County jail in Brentwood on $10,000 bail and was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Salem District Court.
AP-ES-10-08-07 1503EDT
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