MERRIMACK, N.H. – The F.E. Everett Turnpike was shut down for an hour after downed wires caused a crash and a brush fire in Merrimack.
At 1:10 p.m. on Monday, July 20, 2026, State Troopers assigned to the Troop B barracks responded to an incident involving downed live wires across both lanes of travel on the Everett Turnpike at mile marker 13.2 in Merrimack.
The preliminary investigation determined that an unidentified tractor-trailer had struck the wires suspended over the Turnpike. The wires then came down and caused a brush fire on the southbound side.
Sherry Raymond, 56, of Dunstable, Massachusetts, was driving northbound when her Cadillac Escalade was struck by the falling wires. On the southbound side, the wires struck a Hyundai Elantra driven by Marshall Herbert, 57, of Nashua.
Herbert was evaluated for minor injuries at a local hospital. Raymond was not injured.
All lanes of the F.E. Everett Turnpike were closed off for approximately one hour while the scene was being secured.
Troopers were assisted by members of the Merrimack police and fire departments, as well as the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
All aspects of the crash remain under investigation, including the identity of the driver whose tractor-trailer caused the initial incident. Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact Trooper Nicholas Costa at (603) 738-5224.