March 20, 2003

Nashua's Everett Turnpike Closed

Posted by Scott at 09:26 AM

Breaking news this morning via WMUR:

Police have closed the Everett Turnpike in Nashua, N.H., just north of the Massachusetts border because of a chase involving suspicious material on the road. The southbound lanes are closed on the major commuting route in New Hampshire and the road northbound in Massachusetts also is said to be blocked. State police said some kind of material was dropped or thrown onto the road in Merrimack, by Exit 10, just before 8 a.m. Officers were being warned not to touch anything and the bomb squad was called in.

The turnpike (aka Route 3) is the major artery from Nashua into Boston. Many people are not in the office yet because they depend on it to get to work. More info as it becomes available...

Afternoon Update:

Police said that a man pursued by police in southern New Hampshire right over the Massachusetts state line had thrown a small wooden model remote-control airplane out of his car window. The plane -- as well as another model plane found in the area -- were searched by a New Hampshire State Police bomb squad and were found to be harmless.

The question a lot of us want to know is why did he flee? Even though it was "nothing" it still seems unusual.

Yet Another Update: OK, now after a morning of sketchy reporting, the Nashua Telegraph has the details, including the address of the man, the name of the bomb sniffing dog, descriptions of the RC airplanes. We go from one extreme of information to another. I have to love the sense of humor on the police force. The bomb sniffing dog is named "Boomer". What do they call the drug sniffing dog?

What a switch in perspective: terrorist to just a local wacko. Who knows at 8AM in the morning... I guess you don't take chances on the opening days of a war.

Update (following day): Evidently there is more news now that the authorities had reason to be very suspicious. More details available on MSNBC and the Nashua Telegraph. This guy was a real nutball!

Update: Here's the guy's webpage.

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