Background: News footage of the fatal crash in Litchfield, N.H. on Wednesday (WMUR). Inset: John Burke (Litchfield Police Department).
Police said that a New Hampshire teenager was allegedly intoxicated during a road rage incident on Wednesday when he intentionally rear-ended a motorcyclist with his car.
In a press release posted to Facebook, the Litchfield Police Department announced the arrest of John Burke, 19, who was driving a Toyota Corolla through the New Hampshire town at around 9 p.m. Wednesday night. First responders reported to the scene upon getting a notification from Burke’s car that it had crashed at 9:17 p.m. A 911 call was also placed to report the crash.
When officers arrived at the scene, they witnessed Burke’s Toyota and a Mitsubishi Outlander in the aftermath of a head-on crash. On the side of the road, police said they found a motorcycle and 57-year-old Jeffrey Day, who was unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Burke and the driver of the Mitsubishi were treated for minor injuries.
According to Litchfield Police, an investigation into the crash led them to believe that “the collision between the Toyota and the motorcycle was intentional, based on witness statements and physical evidence.”
“The subsequent crash involving the Mitsubishi was not believed to be intentional, but occurred as the driver of the Mitsubishi swerved to miss the motorcycle as it slid into her lane,” the statement also said.
Police noted that Burke was intoxicated at the scene. Details about what led up to the alleged intentional collision between Burke and Day were not provided. According to reporting by local ABC affiliate WMUR, Burke allegedly had a small bottle of alcohol in his car and spoke to a witness at the scene about what they should tell police.
Burke was arrested and charged with reckless manslaughter, first-degree assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated DUI causing serious bodily injury, reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, witness tampering, and vehicular assault. A charge of negligent homicide was dropped.
At his arraignment on Thursday, Burke was ordered to remain in custody until his probable cause hearing on May 6.
