Arrest/Motor Vehicle Pursuit - NH Route 16, Dover

On Friday, March 12, 2021, at approximately 02:20 a.m., Trooper Gary Wood Jr. of the New Hampshire State Police Troop-A barracks was monitoring traffic on Route 16 in Dover when he observed a vehicle traveling southbound at a high rate. After clocking the vehicle at 106 MPH, he activated his emergency lights and attempted to conduct a motor vehicle stop of the vehicle. The vehicle, identified as a green 1996 Nissan Maxima, also matched the description of a vehicle that fled from a Dover Police officer minutes prior to passing Trooper Wood. As Trooper Wood caught up to the vehicle, he observed obvious lane control issues and suspected that the driver was possibly impaired. It quickly became obvious to Trooper Wood that the driver had no intention of stopping for him as the Nissan continued to travel at a high rate of speed onto Interstate 95 south. The Nissan drifted between several lanes of travel and continued onto Route 101 West where an officer from the Stratham Police Department was able to successfully deploy stop sticks. The stop sticks deflated several tires of the Nissan and greatly reduced its speed, however, the Nissan continued westbound until it exited the highway at Exit 7 and traveled North on Route 125. Now traveling on three rims as only one tire remained, the pursuit continued onto Route 4 West from the Lee traffic circle, where a short time later, the Nissan left the roadway and crashed into a ditch. Upon crashing, the male operator fled from the vehicle and Tr. Wood was able to utilize his canine partner “Ida” to take the suspect into custody.

The driver was identified as Christopher Deputat, age 31 of Laconia, NH. He is charged with felony Reckless Conduct, Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, Disobeying an Officer, Driving after Suspension, Conduct after an Accident, and Resisting Arrest. He is being held at the Strafford County Jail until his arraignment in the Strafford County Superior Court later today.

Deputat, had one passenger with him who was taken into custody without incident. She was identified as, Erika BOYD, age 30 of Salisbury, MA. She was also brought to the Strafford County Jail to be held in protective custody due to her impairment, presumably by a controlled substance.

Troopers from New Hampshire State Police Troop-A were assisted by a number of police agencies during this incident, to include the Stratham, Epping and Lee Police Departments, as well as Barrington Fire and EMS.