Oct. 21—CHARLESTOWN — A North Walpole man died Thursday evening after being struck by a car while outside on Bellows Falls Road ( Route 12) in the aftermath of his car's collision with a bear, according to police.
The 20-year-old man was a passenger in a 2002 Ford Focus with two other people: a 17-year-old female driver, of Charlestown, and another male passenger, 17, of Charlestown, according to a news release Friday from Charlestown police. The car was traveling north on Route 12, just south of Main Street, when the car collided with a bear crossing the road, police said.
"This caused significant disabling damage to the Ford Focus and the vehicle was stopped in the northbound travel portion of Bellows Falls Road," police said in a news release. "After the initial collision the three occupants of the Ford Focus exited the vehicle to assess the situation with the car and the bear."
As the three were checking the aftermath of the crash, police said a 59-year-old Claremont man driving a 2017 Volvo S60, also traveling north on Route 12, collided with the rear end of the Ford Focus and the 20-year-old man, police said. The Volvo then crossed the center line before coming to rest on the west side of the road.
The 20-year-old died at the scene, and the Ford's driver was taken by family to the hospital, police said.
Emergency responders received the call about the crash at 8:33 p.m. Thursday. The town fire department, town rescue department, State Police, the Langdon Police Department, North Walpole Fire Department and Golden Cross Ambulance assisted Charlestown police with the response.
There is no indication that impairment, distraction or speed contributed to the crash, police said.
Charlestown police are not releasing the names of those involved in the crash pending notification to their families.
Trisha Nail can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @byTrishaNail.
___
(c)2022 The Keene Sentinel (Keene, N.H.)
Visit The Keene Sentinel (Keene, N.H.) at www.sentinelsource.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
