Man Drives 25 Miles in Wrong Lanes of Routes 93, 101, police say

A man driving the wrong way on Routes 93 and 101 for over 25 miles and aimed at troopers trying to stop him early Sunday morning died after his SUV went off the road and flip over, according to New Hampshire State Police.

A trooper was nearly hit head on by the Ford traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of Interstate 93 in Salem around 1:45 a.m. and police immediately set up rolling road blocks to keep other drivers away from the vehicle.

The driver, David Hartenstein, 39, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, continued north and ignored attempts to stop him, according to State Police, driving at the trooper vehicles and then went around them. Troopers unsuccessfully tried using spike stips in the road to stop Hartenstein.

Hartenstein then continued to drive in the wrong lane when he took the ramp onto Route 101 westbound driving east, according to police. He drove eight miles before suddenly veering off the road in Candia near Exit 3 for Old Candia Road (Route 43) and went into the woods. Troppers found the vehicle flipped over and Hartenstein was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police asked anyone with information about this incident to call the Troop A Barracks at 603-583-3795.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH