Concord Trucker’s Sneezing Fit Causes Rollover In Rochester: New Hampshire State Police

ROCHESTER, NH — If you didn’t know it already, allergy season is upon us, and no one probably knows that more than a trucker from Concord who escaped injury during a Rochester rollover on Friday after having a sneezing fit, according to New Hampshire State Police.

Around 7:45 a.m., state troopers were sent to a report of a crash on the northbound side of Route 16 around Mile Marker 16.2. A box truck, according to Tyler Dumont, the public information officer for state police, was found disabled across both lanes of the highway.

The truck driver, James Desrosiers, 29, of Concord, “suffered a sneezing fit and lost control of the truck,” Dumont said.

“The box truck, a 2023 International, then collided with an adjacent guardrail along the breakdown lane and swerved back toward the middle of the roadway,” he stated. “The truck then rolled over before coming to rest back on its wheels, perpendicular to the roadway.”

Desrosiers was not hurt during the crash, there were no passengers in the truck, and no other vehicles were involved. The truck was owned by Gather, a nonprofit that has developed innovative programs to address food insecurity and provide free food to residents in southern New Hampshire. The driver and truck were taken out of service due to “the ensuing motor carrier inspection,” Dumont said.

The highway was closed for about an hour during the cleanup. NH DOT, Dover police, Rochester Truck, and Troop G troopers assisted at the scene.

Anyone with additional information that could assist in the ongoing investigation of the crash was asked to contact Trooper William Bohnenberger at William.F.Bohnenberger@dos.nh.gov.