The driver of a car that crashed into school bus in Walpole, New Hampshire, on Wednesday has died, and the bus driver and two children who were on the bus were hospitalized, according to police.

Walpole police said they responded to a report of a 2-vehicle crash on Route 12 in the area of Connector Road around 3:13 p.m. Wednesday.

Their investigation showed that a Saab 9-3 driven by 22-year-old Dietrich Kern Praska, of Marlborough, was headed south on Route 12 when it crossed the yellow center line and collided with a school bus in the northbound lane.

The bus, owned by the Fall Mountain School District, was driven by 65-year-old Marie Robbins, of Alstead.

Dietrich was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Robbins was taken by medical helicopter to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. The two students who were on the bus were both taken by ambulance to Cheshire Medical Center in Keene and to Springfield Hospital in Vermont for what police said were minor injuries.

No update on the conditions of the bus driver or the two children was immediately available.

Walpole police said they were assisted at the scene by state police, Walpole and Westmoreland fire, Cheshire EMS and Warren-Wentworth Ambulance Service.

Route 12 was closed to traffic between Halls Crossing and Blackjack Crossing roads until about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and anyone who witnessed it is asked to call Walpole police at 603-445-2058 or 603-355-2000.

The Executive Council on Wednesday agreed to convert the toll plaza on F.E. Everett Turnpike in Bedford to all-electronic tolling, meaning vehicles won’t slow down to pay.

On a 3-2 vote, the councilors approved a nearly $16 million contract between the Department of Transportation and R.S. Audley Inc., a construction company based in Bow. They also OK’d a contingency of just under $800,000 for “unforeseen issues” during construction. The project is funded through the state Bureau of Turnpikes’ Capital Program and is expected to be completed by September 2027.

This project will replace the traditional toll plaza with an overhead, boothless system that doesn’t require vehicles to pump the brakes. That means people won’t be able to pay with cash as they pass through the toll, a point that split the council. Instead, E-ZPasses will be captured by the system, or travelers can pay online within seven days or through a mailed invoice.

A minimum of two lanes of traffic will run on both sides of the highway during construction, and there will be three lanes of traffic both ways once completed, according to documents DOT submitted to the council and governor.

DOT Commissioner William Cass said toll plazas have posed safety concerns, pointing to “horrific” accidents where people have driven into the barriers. Besides eliminating the accident risk posed by the barriers, it will also help “increase capacity” and “decrease emissions from idling cars,” according to DOT.

Gov. Chris Sununu said the all-electronic tolling should be considered on a “case-by-case basis, if it’s expanded at all.” 

The outgoing Republican governor met with the Executive Council for his third-to-last time Wednesday. Come January, the long table on the second floor of the State House will be surrounded by some new faces, but it will have the same party makeup: 4 Republican councilors, one Democrat, and another Republican governor, Kelly Ayotte, at the helm.

In other news from the meeting:

• On a 3-2 vote, the council confirmed Mark Dell’Orfano, an assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, to the Public Utilities Commission. 
• Sununu nominated Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais to serve on the state Boxing and Wrestling Commission, which helps provide “a framework for the conduct and performance of all boxing and mixed martial arts bouts and wrestling exhibitions” under its jurisdiction, according to its webpage.
• The council approved the use of federal funds for an energy efficiency program, which will provide rebates for income-eligible residents to purchase certain electronic appliances. The program is expected to launch early next summer, said Joshua Elliot, director of the division of policy and programs at the Department of Energy.
• Sununu gave some hints as to what’s next for him, saying it would probably be a mix of things. He told reporters he has been looking at opportunities in the private sector, which may include sitting on boards, “helping companies navigate and strategize around avoiding political landmines,” or perhaps media. “I haven’t signed on the dotted line with anything yet,” he said.