AUBURN, NEW HAMPSHIRE — A Manchester van driver lost control on wet pavement on westbound Route 101 in Auburn Wednesday afternoon, sliding into a Freightliner tractor-trailer and sending both vehicles off the right side of the highway into the woods, closing the right lane for seven hours.
New Hampshire State Police Troop A responded at 3:35 p.m. on July 29 to the crash near mile marker 62.4. Pedro Cruz, 31, of Manchester, was driving a 2022 Ford T-350 van in the left lane when he lost control. The van entered the right lane and struck a 2027 Freightliner tractor-trailer driven by Timothy Lake, 47, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Both vehicles were pushed off the right side of the highway into the nearby woods.
Investigators determined Cruz was traveling too fast for the wet road conditions. He was cited for speeding under existing conditions. Both Cruz and Lake were transported to a local hospital for evaluation of minor injuries.
The right lane remained closed for seven hours while crews worked to recover and remove both vehicles from the wooded area. The road fully reopened at 11:20 p.m.
Assisting agencies included the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, Auburn, Candia, and Derry fire departments, and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper Seth Parker at Seth.W.Parker@dos.nh.gov.
