New Hampshire Patch Readers Follow Fatal Amherst Crash, Bow DUI Arrest, and Statewide School Rankings Among the Week’s Most-Read Local Stories
CONCORD, NH — New Hampshire Patch’s most-read stories last week ranged from deadly traffic crashes to a school leader’s second DUI arrest and a new look at the state’s top high schools. The roundup, centered on local coverage across the Granite State, also included a dramatic mountain rescue, an OUI case involving a breathalyzer reading far above the legal limit, and a series of criminal and community updates.
The list reflected what readers were following most closely: public safety, schools, court cases, and major weekend events. Several of the posts were tied to serious incidents in southern New Hampshire, including Amherst, Bow, Nashua, and Concord. Others focused on broader statewide topics such as school rankings and law enforcement roundups.
Deadly Route 101 crash in Amherst drew intense attention
One of the most-read stories involved a multi-vehicle crash on Route 101 in Amherst that left two people dead and shut down the highway. Police said the collision involved two commercial vehicles and one passenger vehicle. One of the vehicles caught fire, and officials also reported an active oil leak at the scene.
Amherst police later identified the dead drivers as Joseph Wayne Leblanc, 44, of Marlborough, and Keith Clegg, 44, of Nashua. A separate story said Clegg was driving a commercial oil truck when a car crossed the centerline into his lane and hit the truck. The crash prompted road closure and quickly became one of the most-read stories on the Patch network.
School principal’s second DUI arrest in Bow made local headlines
Another story that drew strong readership involved Debora Ann Roukey of Weare, the principal of Central High School in Manchester. Police said she was arrested in Bow in mid-July on a second DUI charge. The arrest followed a prior drunken-driving conviction in Concord, making the case especially notable for readers across the region.
Patch’s roundup placed that case near the top of the week’s most popular items because of Roukey’s position in public education and the repeat-offense allegation. The story added to a broader list of posts that focused on driving-related incidents, traffic safety, and arrests that had already generated a strong response from local readers.
Tuckerman Ravine rescue followed repeated warnings on Mount Washington
Readers also spent time on a mountain rescue story involving a New Jersey hiker accused of pressing on despite multiple warnings to turn back at Tuckerman Ravine. Nagarajan Tiruchchirapallis, 48, of Jersey City, set out early Saturday morning to climb Mount Washington via the ravine, according to the coverage.
The story said he ignored several instructions to turn around before the rescue unfolded. That made the episode one of the week’s most widely read posts, with the incident standing out because of the severity of the conditions and the repeated warnings that were reportedly given before help was needed.
Breathalyzer reading of 0.42 put Merrimack woman in a separate OUI case
Another high-interest item involved Alicia Mazerall of Merrimack, who was accused of blowing a 0.42 on a breathalyzer test after a crash in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. Police said she faces her third OUI after fleeing the crash and being found near a childcare center with open containers on Monday.
The case was among the most-clicked stories in the week’s New Hampshire roundup because of the unusually high breathalyzer reading and the sequence of events described by officers. It added to a set of traffic and alcohol-related stories that readers followed closely on Patch sites across the state.
Niche rankings put only two New Hampshire public high schools in the national top 1,000
Not every popular story involved a police response. One of the week’s top posts looked at new rankings from Niche that placed only two New Hampshire public high schools among the top 1,000 in the country. The analysis gave readers a fresh comparison of how the state’s schools stacked up nationally.
That ranking story connected with a broad audience because it touched on families, school choice, and academic reputation. Patch also highlighted another school-related post noting that Arts Academy and Salem High School made a new top 25 list of the best high schools in New Hampshire, adding another education-focused item to the week’s most-read coverage.
Patch readers also followed arrests, fundraising, and local community updates
The roundup showed that readers were interested in more than the biggest breaking stories. Other posts mentioned a GoFundMe effort for the Nashua man killed in the Route 101 crash, along with items about a tractor-trailer jackknife, an alleged arson arrest after a two-state search, and a roundup of 32 arrests during a Queen City enforcement day.
Patch also surfaced a number of community and court-related posts, including stories about a man accused of vandalizing a coffee shop, a man accused of threatening to kill a woman’s family, and a federal court roundup involving a Haverhill, Massachusetts, man convicted of attempted child sex trafficking. Together, the list showed the wide range of local reporting drawing attention across New Hampshire Patch sites.
