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David Earle Hartenstein

Age : 39

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 05/02/2021

Location : NH-101

City : Candia

County : Rockingham

State : New Hampshire

Agency : New Hampshire State Police, Raymond Police Department, Candia Police Department

Officer(s) :Unknown

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR CHASE: Wrong-way driving
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NARRATIVE:
On 05/02/2021 at approximately 1:44 a.m., David Hartenstein, 39, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, was driving a blue 2003 Ford Escape north in the southbound lanes of Interstate 93 in Salem when a New Hampshire State Police trooper encountered him coming head-on. Troopers attempted to stop Hartenstein while simultaneously establishing rolling roadblocks to keep motorists out of his path.
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Hartenstein continued north in the wrong direction and repeatedly drove toward and around troopers attempting to stop him. Police deployed spike strips, but the attempts to deflate his tires were unsuccessful. Troopers continued ahead of the Ford Escape, stopping traffic where possible as Hartenstein traveled approximately 30 miles through southern New Hampshire.
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At the Route 101 split in Manchester, Hartenstein entered Route 101 and continued east in the westbound lanes. Near mile marker 105.6 in Candia, the Ford Escape left the highway and crashed into trees in the woods. Troopers located the wrecked vehicle a short time later and Hartenstein was pronounced dead at the scene. No other motorists were reported injured despite the prolonged wrong-way incident.
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New Hampshire State Police Troop A investigated the fatal crash. Trooper P. Sankowich was publicly identified as the investigating trooper and sought witnesses to the incident. Public reporting does not identify the trooper who first encountered Hartenstein or the other troopers involved in the attempts to stop him.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
New Hampshire State Police did not publicly identify the trooper who first encountered Hartenstein or the other troopers who attempted to stop his vehicle.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wmur.com/article/fitchburg-man-driving-the-wrong-way-on-route-101-killed-in-crash/36353628
https://www.unionleader.com/news/safety/wrong-way-driver-from-massachusetts-dies-after-crashing-on-route-101-in-candia/article_b96d5f90-4d13-5a4d-bc19-9262353e8100.html
https://www.eagletribune.com/news/fitchburg-man-dies-in-wrong-way-crash-on-route-101-in-nh/article_502f69b8-abfd-11eb-ae60-370768d70f0a.html
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/05/02/metro/fitchburg-man-killed-wrong-way-nh-crash/
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2021/05/02/police-say-fitchburg-man-dies-after-n-h-interstate-wrong-way-chase/
https://patch.com/new-hampshire/salem-nh/wrong-way-massachusetts-driver-killed-route-101-crash-nh
https://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/local-news/2021/05/03/police-say-driver-dies-after-interstate-wrong-way-chase/