Three-town chase ends with fatal crash in Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH - Police continue to investigate the events surrounding a high-speed pursuit of a driver who sought to elude lawmen in three Seacoast towns before they lost control of their vehicle in a fatal crash in Greenland.

The incident unfolded on Thursday around 4:45 p.m. when Deputies from the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office observed a Nissan Sentra that had an expired inspection sticker and front-end damage on Route 101 in Hampton. After attempting to stop the vehicle on Route 27, it fled from Deputies and was last seen heading northbound on Route 1 in the Town of Hampton, according to a statement by the state Dept. of Safety sent on Friday.

The Rockingham County Sheriff's Office then put out a be on the lookout (BOLO) for the vehicle to other local agencies. Minutes later, an officer from the Greenland Police Department observed the vehicle on Post Road and activated his emergency lights but due to the Sentra's high rate of speed and erratic driving, they lost sight of the vehicle on Post Road.

The vehicle took a right on Route 33 and then took a right onto Ocean Road, continuing at a high rate of speed until the driver lost control and went off the right side of the roadway into the woods in the area of 424 Ocean Road in Portsmouth.

They were transported to the Portsmouth Regional Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. His identity is being withheld pending positive identification.

All aspects of this crash remain under investigation. Anyone who may have witnesses the crash, or has any information related to the incident is asked to contact Trooper First Class Nathaniel Goodwin at (603) 545-4288 or Nathaniel.D.Goodwin@dos.nh.gov.