New Hampshire

Driver killed in crash with NH school bus; bus driver, 2 children also injured

The cause of the crash remains under investigation

Walpole NH Police

The driver of a car that crashed into school bus in Walpole, New Hampshire, on Wednesday has died, and the bus driver and two children who were on the bus were hospitalized, according to police.

Walpole police said they responded to a report of a 2-vehicle crash on Route 12 in the area of Connector Road around 3:13 p.m. Wednesday.

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Their investigation showed that a Saab 9-3 driven by 22-year-old Dietrich Kern Praska, of Marlborough, was headed south on Route 12 when it crossed the yellow center line and collided with a school bus in the northbound lane.

The bus, owned by the Fall Mountain School District, was driven by 65-year-old Marie Robbins, of Alstead.

Dietrich was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Robbins was taken by medical helicopter to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. The two students who were on the bus were both taken by ambulance to Cheshire Medical Center in Keene and to Springfield Hospital in Vermont for what police said were minor injuries.

No update on the conditions of the bus driver or the two children was immediately available.

Walpole police said they were assisted at the scene by state police, Walpole and Westmoreland fire, Cheshire EMS and Warren-Wentworth Ambulance Service.

Route 12 was closed to traffic between Halls Crossing and Blackjack Crossing roads until about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and anyone who witnessed it is asked to call Walpole police at 603-445-2058 or 603-355-2000.

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