Man arrested after head-on collision on NH motorway

A Bedford man was arrested after another man was seriously injured in a head-on collision on Interstate 293 in Manchester, state police said.

New Hampshire State Police said troopers were called around 2:40 a.m. Saturday to a reported wrong-way driver traveling south in the northbound lane of I-293 in Manchester.

About two minutes later, a head-on collision involving a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction was reported. When police arrived, they found two vehicles involved in the crash, state police said.

The accident occurred 275 meters north of the South Willow Street exit, the Manchester Fire Department said. A pickup truck and a small passenger vehicle were involved in the accident, the fire department said. Both vehicles came to a stop about 180 meters apart, authorities said.

James Defeo, 21, of Bedford, was driving his Dodge Ram pickup truck the wrong way when he collided head-on with a Kia Optima, state police said.

The driver of the Kia, a 34-year-old man from Manchester, suffered serious injuries and was taken to the hospital. Defeo was not injured, state police said.

>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play <

The driver of the passenger car was trapped, making access to the person difficult. The driver of the pickup truck, however, was able to escape on foot and did not require treatment, authorities said.

It took firefighters about 10 minutes to cut open the vehicle enough to get the person out, authorities said.

Defeo was arrested and charged with reckless handling of a deadly weapon, drunken driving and violent assault.

Defeo will be arraigned on Monday and will be denied bail, state police said.

According to official reports, the impact left a debris field about 90 meters long on the highway.

The road was reopened at around 7:30 a.m.