Pedestrian killed by hit-and-run driver
Suspect hospitalized with life-threatening injuries
NEWMARKET — State Police say an elderly Newmarket man was killed in a hit-and-run accident while walking on Grant Road Thursday, and that the suspected driver is at the Exeter Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Chris Vetter, commander for State Police Troop A, said that at 2:51 p.m. the Newmarket Police Department responded to a report of a motor vehicle accident on Grant Road. Upon their arrival, officers found the deceased man about 150 yards from the intersection of Grant Road and Neal Mill Road. Police say the driver was operating a black Volvo and that he fled the scene of the accident. Grant Road was closed at approximately 3 p.m. and reopened around 7 p.m.
The victim’s identity is being withheld while police notify his next of kin. Vetter said the man was walking alone on Grant Road, which has no sidewalks and is a 30-mile-per-hour zone, and that there were witnesses to the incident.
“We’ve got an individual who lost his life; he was a pedestrian walking down the road,” said Vetter at a press conference Thursday evening. “So that is certainly tragic. It’s been a pretty exhausting afternoon for the Newmarket Police Department and the State Police.”
Vetter said the investigation “moved pretty quickly,” and that at 3:20 p.m., Newmarket Police responded to a medical call on South Main Street, where a man was found suffering from an unknown medical condition.
State Police were seen outside 241 South Main St., but would not confirm whether this was the address to which police responded. The man was transported to the Exeter Hospital where he is currently being treated for life-threatening injuries. Vetter did not confirm whether the medical condition caused the accident.
Vetter said police found the Volvo involved in the accident in the driveway of South Main Street residence. Police said the vehicle had extensive front-end damage. Vetter would not confirm whether speed, alcohol or drugs were involved in the accident.
Vetter said the State and Newmarket police are still investigating the incident. No charges have been filed against the man.
Updates to follow at seacoastonline.com