HAMPTON –– A wrong-way driver caused a two-car crash on Route 101 East near the Interstate 95 interchange, resulting in serious injuries and a highway closure late Friday evening.
At approximately 9:36 p.m. on September 15, 2023, New Hampshire State Police from the Troop A Barracks responded to the crash, which involved a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu and a 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage.
Preliminary investigations show that the Malibu, driven by 22-year-old Eric Jenkins of Chandler, Arizona, was traveling the wrong way, leading to a head-on collision with the Mirage.
Following the crash, the Malibu came to rest on the highway while the Mirage veered off the road, coming to a halt on the grass shoulder.
The driver of the Mirage, 23-year-old Melisa Kizoglu of Hampton, was trapped inside her car and had to be extricated by emergency personnel.
Due to the debris and wreckage spanning across all lanes of Route 101 East, troopers closed off the area to allow for treatment of the injured and further investigation.
The New Hampshire State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit was called to the scene to assist with the investigation.
Jenkins was taken to a local hospital as a precaution. Kizoglu, after being stabilized at the scene, was airlifted via Boston Medflight helicopter to a Boston area hospital for treatment of serious injuries.
The highway remained closed at Exit 12 for about three and a half hours, with traffic rerouted onto Route 111 and Route 27 in Exeter. Route 101 East fully reopened to traffic at about 1:42 a.m.
Multiple agencies, including the Hampton Police Department, the Hampton Fire Department, Boston Medflight, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, and New England Truck Center, assisted at the scene.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper Brighton at [email protected] or by calling the New Hampshire State Police Headquarters Communications Unit at (603) 223-4381.
