CANDIA, NH – State police have identified the victim of a crash early Wednesday morning as Alexander C. Smith, 25, of Auburn.
At 6:01 a.m. on September 24, 2025, State Troopers assigned to the Troop A barracks responded to an automatic crash notification from a cellphone on Route 101 eastbound near mile marker 67.2 in Candia. Shortly after, State Police dispatch started receiving 911 calls from passing drivers confirming that a crash had occurred involving an SUV and a dump truck. These calls further indicated that the SUV was on fire and the driver was entrapped.
Troopers arrived on scene and found that several passing motorists had stopped to provide help and removed the severely injured driver from the burning SUV. Troopers quickly determined that the driver had been the lone occupant of the SUV and that the dump truck had been parked on the shoulder of the highway due to a mechanical problem and was unoccupied at the time of the crash. Troopers, along with those who stopped, rendered aid to the injured driver until emergency medical services arrived. Arriving fire personnel eventually extinguished the vehicle fire.
Due to the severity of the crash, members of the New Hampshire State Police (NHSP) Collision Analysis & Reconstruction (CAR) Unit and the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Unit responded to the scene to assist with the investigation.
The preliminary investigation has determined that an unoccupied 2001 Mack dump truck was disabled and parked on the paved right shoulder of the highway when a 2019 Nissan Rogue operated by Alexander C. Smith, 25, of Auburn, collided with the rear of the dump truck, leading to the SUV catching fire.
Smith was pronounced deceased at the scene.
While Troopers investigated the scene and emergency personnel worked to remove the involved vehicles, along with an extensive cleanup of debris, all lanes of Route 101 East were closed, and traffic was diverted off Exit 3 for approximately three and a half hours. The scene was ultimately cleared, and all lanes of travel were reopened at 9:33 a.m.
Troop A was assisted at the scene by Troopers assigned to the Troop G barracks, members of the Candia police and fire departments, Auburn police and fire departments, Raymond Fire Department, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
All aspects of this crash remain under investigation. Anyone with information that may assist in the investigation is asked to contact Trooper Kevin LeDoux at Kevin.P.LeDoux@dos.nh.gov.