Route 101 crash: Woman, 70, dies after vehicle strikes bridge abutment in Epping

EPPING — A 70-year-old woman died early Friday morning when her vehicle crashed into a cement bridge abutment on Route 101 near the Martin Road overpass.

State police responded to the single motor vehicle accident at 1:55 a.m. A preliminary investigation revealed that Patricia Strohman, 70, of The Villages, Florida, was driving a 2015 Nissan Rogue on Route 101 west near the Martin Road overpass when she lost control of the vehicle. The Nissan, according to police, veered off the right side of the highway, traveled several 100 feet along a grassy embankment, and struck a cement bridge abutment.

When officers arrived, they found Strohman severely injured and heavily trapped inside the vehicle. Police said Strohman succumbed to her injuries at the scene.

Police said the crash, and reasons why Strohman lost control of the vehicle, remain under investigation.

Route 101 West lanes were closed to traffic for three and a half hours while troopers investigated the scene and emergency personnel worked to remove the Nissan and associated debris. The lanes reopened at 5:35 a.m.

Multiple agencies assisted members of Troop A, including troopers from the Troop B barracks and the New Hampshire State Police Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Unit, along with members of the Epping and Raymond police departments. The Epping and Brentwood fire departments, Exeter Hospital Paramedics Advanced Life Support Unit, the New Hampshire Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, and the New England Truck Center also assisted.

Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact Trooper Clark Brighton at Clark.A.Brighton@DOS.NH.GOV.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Route 101 crash: Woman, 70, dies after vehicle strikes bridge abutment in Epping