Driver, Passenger Hurt After Crash At Hampton Toll Plaza

HAMPTON, N.H. – Two people were hurt after a vehicle struck a concrete barrier at the Hampton Toll Plaza.

At approximately 4:11 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, 2024, State Troopers assigned to the Troop A barracks responded to a report of a crash near the cash toll collection area on Interstate 95 northbound. Troopers responded and found two occupants in the vehicle. A passenger was determined to have serious injuries and was not alert. 

After discovering the passenger side doors were inoperable due to damage, Trooper Daniel Bourque broke the rear passenger side window to get inside the vehicle and further assess the passenger’s injuries. Emergency Medical Services personnel arrived soon after and began assessing and treating the vehicle occupants. 

The preliminary investigation indicates that a 2013 Nissan Altima, operated by Thomas Lynch, 78, of North Andover, Massachusetts, had been traveling along I-95 northbound within the cash toll collection area of the Hampton Toll Plaza when, for reasons that remain under investigation, Lynch lost control of the Nissan, resulting in the Nissan striking a concrete traffic barrier in front of the toll booth located in the fourth lane of the toll plaza. After the impact, the Nissan rotated before coming to rest perpendicular to the interstate between two concrete traffic barriers within the fourth lane of the toll plaza.  

Lynch, the driver of the Nissan, was taken by ambulance to an area hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The sole passenger was transported by ambulance to an area hospital for treatment of serious injuries. 

Based upon the severity of the crash, State Troopers assigned to the Collision Analysis & Reconstruction Unit responded to assist members of Troop A in documenting and investigating the scene. While Troopers conducted the investigation and emergency personnel worked to facilitate the removal of the involved Nissan, along with associated debris, four northbound travel lanes within the cash toll collection area of the Hampton Toll Plaza were closed for approximately two and a half hours, however, the open road toll lanes and two travel lanes of the Hampton Toll Plaza remained operational. All travel lanes were reopened as of 6:39 p.m.

Multiple agencies assisted Troop A at the scene including the Hampton Police Department, Hampton Fire/Rescue, North Hampton Fire & Rescue, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, and Pat’s Towing. 

All aspects of the crash remain under investigation. Anyone with information that may assist in the investigation is asked to contact Trooper Bourque via email at Daniel.J.Bourque@DOS.NH.GOV.