Newsletter Signup
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
Local News
Nine separate car crashes over the past weekend killed 10 people across New Hampshire, state officials say. The causes of each crash are currently under investigation by state law enforcement agencies.
In a statement released Tuesday, New Hampshire Department of Safety (NHDS) Assistant Commissioner Eddie Edwards says the crashes could have been prevented by “better decision making.” He’s asking all residents and visitors to abide by posted speed limits, put their cell phones away, and to not drive under the influence.
The @NH_OHS is asking all drivers in New Hampshire to rethink their driving habits after nine crashes in four days resulted in 10 deaths.
As of 7/15, 64 lives have been lost in 59 crashes on #NH roads so far in 2024, marking a 10% increase in crash deaths compared to 2023. pic.twitter.com/0SN9RZqxuF
— NH Office of Highway Safety (@nh_ohs) July 16, 2024
“What’s happening on our roads is alarming and has resulted in tragic consequences,” Edwards said in the statement.
From July 12 to July 15, 10 people died in nine crashes in the state.
Edwards confirmed the fatal crashes took place in Alton, Belmont, Center Conway, Concord, Gilford, Hampton Falls, Jaffrey, and Loudon.
State Police Colonel Mark Hall says his department and the NHDS will increase their presence on major state arteries and highways.
“Let’s work together to make our roads safer for everyone,” Hall said in a statement. He says he encourages drivers to “do their part” in maintaining safe roads.
The NDHS says 64 people were killed by a car crash in New Hampshire this year. A report from the New Hampshire Highway Safety Improvement Program noted a drastic increase in crash-related fatalities in recent years, jumping from 100 in 2019 to 146 in 2022.
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Local News
A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.
Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.
Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.
In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.
During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.
When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.
Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.
While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.
As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.
“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.
Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Exclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
Mother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
Setting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
AM showers Sunday in Maryland
Florida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
Massachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling