A 29-year-old Northfield driver died following a head-on crash Saturday night in Tilton.
Police say Robert Arteaga crossed the double-yellow line while traveling east on a busy Laconia Road. Arteaga had attempted to pass another eastbound vehicle near Lochmere Country Club where the road crests.
Arteaga’s Mazda sedan crashed head-on into a westbound SUV driven by Deborah Labrecque, 51, of Belmont at the peak of the hill, according to police.
Firefighters had to extricate Arteaga from his vehicle. He and Labrecque were taken by ambulance to two separate hospitals – Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia and Franklin Hospital.
Arteaga later died from his injuries. Labrecque suffered serious injuries and remains hospitalized, Tilton Police Chief Robert Cormier said Monday.
Neither vehicle had any passengers.
The crash, which was reported at 6:15 p.m., closed a section of Laconia Road near the Tanger Outlets for several hours Saturday.
The Belknap Country Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team assisted Tilton police and is investigating the crash. Police identified operator error as a factor in the crash. Cormier said blood samples were taken from both drivers and that police are awaiting those results.