Wrong-Way Driver Arrested In Bethlehem

BETHLEHEM, N.H. – A Massachusetts man was arrested after driving the wrong way on Interstate 93.

At 10:55 p.m. yesterday, April 20, 2025, State Police Troop F received a report of a vehicle driving northbound in the southbound lanes, in the area of Exit 34C on Interstate 93 in Franconia.

Responding Troopers located the driver in the area of Exit 39, driving directly toward them in the high-speed lane. The initial attempts to stop the driver were unsuccessful. 

Later on, the Troopers noticed another vehicle traveling southbound, directly in the path of the wrong-way driver. However, the southbound driver was able to avoid the wrong-way vehicle. Shortly after, the wrong-way driver stopped on the shoulder of the road, where he was identified as Ronald Lerned, 62, of Lowell, Massachusetts.

Lerned was arrested and charged with reckless conduct, driving after revocation or suspension, third offense DWI, and disobeying an officer. He was held on preventative detention and will be arraigned at a later date in Littleton District Court.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Trooper Connor Coppin at (603) 227-4087 or Connor.M.Coppin@dos.nh.gov.