Motor Vehicle Pursuit and Arrest

Hampton, New Hampshire – On October 27, 2022 at approximately 7:13 AM, the New Hampshire State Police Communications Unit received a report of a U-Haul pickup truck that had collided with a guardrail on Route 101 East in the Town of Raymond and subsequently fled the scene. Approximately ten minutes later, Trooper Stephen Galvin and Trooper Seth Parker of the New Hampshire State Police Troop A Barracks intercepted the vehicle in question on Route 101 West in the Town of Hampton and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. As Troopers attempted to stop the vehicle, the vehicle continued onto Route 1 South and eventually came to a stop. While Troopers approached the vehicle on foot, the vehicle fled at which time Troopers initiated a pursuit.

From this point, a pursuit ensued along several major corridors in the seacoast area to include Route 1 and Route 101 in the Town of Hampton, Interstate 95 through the communities of North Hampton, Greenland, and Portsmouth, and Route 16 through the communities of Portsmouth, Newington, and Dover. During the course of the pursuit, the vehicle traveled at excessive rates of speed, failed to maintain a single lane of travel, disobeyed traffic control devices, and executed an illegal U-turn. At one point along the Interstate 95 corridor, the vehicle traveled across a grass median to reverse direction. Additionally, the vehicle collided with another motorist resulting in minor property damage and fled the scene. Eventually, the pursuit entered Route 1 South in the City of Portsmouth and continued into the Town of North Hampton. Upon entering the Town of North Hampton, the vehicle departed from the Route 1 corridor and entered secondary roadways at which time the New Hampshire State Police helicopter joined the pursuit to assist Troopers on the ground in tracking the vehicle for the purpose of mitigating the risk to the public. As the vehicle continued along secondary roadways, North Hampton Police Officers deployed tire deflation devices and successfully deflated all four tires of the vehicle. Shortly thereafter, the vehicle came to a final stop on Hobbs Road in the Town of North Hampton at which point Troopers were able to take the operator into custody without further incident.

After being taken into custody, the operator was identified as Justin B. Digaetano, age 32, of Portland, Maine and was determined to be the lone occupant within the vehicle. Further investigation revealed that Digaetano was under the influence of drugs, his privileges to operate a motor vehicle were under suspension, and he was the subject of an outstanding warrant originating out of the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office, which stemmed from a failure to appear in court on an underlying felony-level charge of Receiving Stolen Property.

Following a medical evaluation at a nearby hospital, Digaetano was processed at the Rockingham County House of Corrections. In addition to the outstanding warrant, the New Hampshire State Police filed several additional criminal charges against Digaetano as a result of this incident to include Reckless Conduct (Class B Felony), Aggravated Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (Class A Misdemeanor), Disobeying An Officer (Class A Misdemeanor), Operating After Suspension (Violation), Driving Without Giving Proof (Class A Misdemeanor), Conduct After An Accident (Class A Misdemeanor), and Resisting Arrest or Detention (Class A Misdemeanor).
Following processing, Digaetano refused bail and was held at the Rockingham County House of Corrections pending an appearance in the Rockingham County Superior Court on October 28, 2022 at a time to be determined by the court. Based upon potential drug evidence observed within the involved vehicle, the vehicle was impounded pending application for a search warrant and additional charges are expected.

This entire event was approximately an hour in duration. In order to bring this incident to a safe conclusion, Hobbs Road in the Town of North Hampton was closed to traffic for approximately 30 minutes while Troopers investigated the scene and a wrecker worked to facilitate the removal and impoundment of the vehicle.

During the course of this incident, Troopers from the New Hampshire State Police Troop A Barracks were assisted by the New Hampshire State Police Aviation Unit, the New Hampshire State Police Mobile Enforcement Team, the New Hampshire State Police K9 Unit, the North Hampton Police Department, the Hampton Police Department, the Portsmouth Police Department, the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office, the North Hampton Fire Department, and Dave's Garage.

This incident remains under investigation by Trooper Seth Parker of the New Hampshire State Police Troop A Barracks. Anyone with information pertaining to this investigation is asked to contact Trooper Parker at Seth.W.Parker@dos.nh.gov.