WALPOLE, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) – Police have identified the drivers involved in a fatal accident on Route 12 in Walpole Wednesday afternoon.
According to a news release from the Walpole Police Department, first responders were called to the scene of the crash around 3:15 Wednesday afternoon in the area of Connector Road on Route 12 in Walpole.
An initial investigation determined that Dietrich Kern Praska, 22, of Marlborough, was traveling south on Route 12 in a 2006 Saab 9-3 when he crossed the center line and collided with a school bus from the Fall Mountain Regional School District.
Praska was pronounced dead at the scene while the driver of the school bus, identified as Marie Robbins, 65, of Alstead was airlifted to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts for treatment of undisclosed injuries.
There were two students onboard the bus at the time of the crash. They were both transported by ambulance to Cheshire Medical Center and Springfield Hospital with minor injuries.
The New Hampshire State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction unit assisted on scene, along with NHSP Troop C, Walpole Fire/EMS, Westmoreland Fire Department, Cheshire EMS, and Warren-Wentworth Ambulance Service.
A section of Route 12 between Halls Crossing and Blackjack Crossing roads was closed for several hours, and reopened around 7:30 Wednesday night.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Anyone who witnessed the crash should contact Officer Jonah Merkle at the Walpole Police Department at 603-445-2058, or call the 24-hour dispatch line at 603-355-2000.
