A Derry man accused of causing a wrong-way crash that killed a New Ipswich couple earlier this year continues to be held without bail following a bail hearing last week.
Ryan Kittredge, 31, was arrested Jan. 25 and charged with one count of negligent homicide and one count of felony reckless conduct. The charges allege Kittredge made a U-turn, causing the double fatal crash by driving the wrong way on Route 101 in Epping on Jan. 10.
John Johnson, 58, of New Ipswich, who was a police sergeant in Townsend for 40 years, was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Impala, with his wife Heidi Johnson, 57, as a passenger, when the crash occured. Both John and Heidi Johnson were pronounced deceased on scene.
Kittredge argued for bail during in a motion for a bail reduction that came before the Rockingham County Superior Court on Feb. 20. He has been held at the Rockingham County jail in Brentwood since his Jan. 25 arrest.
Superior Court Judge Andrew Schulman wrote in his Feb. 20 ruling that preventative detention should be used sparingly but added that Kittredge’s case is an appropriate use of it.
“This is not a case in which a driver mistakenly entered a superhighway from an exit ramp. That would be understandable. In this case, Mr. Kittredge was already driving in the correct direction when he made a U-turn on a limited-access highway and drove the wrong way into traffic,” Schulman wrote in his ruling.
Kittredge was seeking to be released to his parent’s “supportive home environment” and argued in his motion that he is not receiving adequate medical care in the jail. An argument the judge disagreed with.
“It does not appear that he has been denied any necessary medical device or accommodation,” Schulman wrote.
In his ruling, Schulman said it is still unclear if Kittredge was impaired while driving or simply extremely reckless. Kittredge’s criminal history consists of two DUI convictions. In his ruling, Schulman said this leads him to presume that Kittredge would have been ordered to participate in an Impaired Driver Education Program, which should have given him a heightened awareness of the dangers of impaired driving.
“Mr. Kittredge is not presently charged with alcohol-related homicide. However, there was some indication there had been drinking. If alcohol was a factor this would be Mr. Kittredge’s third DUI,” Schulman wrote. “If alcohol was not a factor, the degree of recklessness would appear to be even more extreme.”
Ultimately, Schulman declined to vacate the court’s previous preventative detention order.
“In the absence of additional facts, the court concludes that the degree of recklessness evidenced in this case is demonstrative of a continuing danger to the community. Electronic monitoring cannot stop Mr. Kittredge from driving. House arrest can’t stop him from driving. A supportive family cannot stop him from driving. Cash bail cannot stop him driving. Finally, although Mr. Kittredge was injured in the collision, he is well enough to do push-ups and could no doubt operate a motor vehicle if he chose,” Schulman wrote.
Kittredge was arraigned on the two charges in the Rockingham Superior Court in Brentwood the same day as his arrest. At the court hearing, he was detained so that he could be evaluated by medical personnel at the Rockingham County House of Corrections. According to court documents, “he appears to have serious medical needs resulting from the automobile crash.”
According to the arrest affidavit, the night of the crash Kittredge had told authorities he had not been driving the Dodge pickup truck. However, the affidavit said it appeared to state police he had been the sole occupant of the pickup truck and the driver of it based on several factors, including that he was pinned in the driver’s seat when found after the crash. A state trooper at the scene also detected the smell of alcohol on Kittredge, according to the affidavit. Kittredge also had slowed, mumbled speech, didn’t know what town he was in and had watery glassy eyes with constricted pupils, the state trooper observed, according to the affidavit. Also according to the affidavit, a paramedic on scene told a state trooper that Kittredge told her he had been at “Bernie’s Bar” in Hampton.
The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the New Hampshire Collision Analysis and Reconstruction or C.A.R. Unit, Vetter said.
New Hampshire State Police were notified Jan. 10 around 11:41 p.m. of a wrong-way driver on Route 101 westbound in the area of Exit 7.
According to state police, Kittredge, driving a 1998 Dodge 1500 pickup, reportedly made a U-turn on Route 101 westbound and was traveling east in the westbound lane when the Dodge struck the Impala Johnson was driving. State Police said Johnson was unable to avoid the collision with the Dodge. The crash disabled both vehicles, which were then blocking both lanes of Route 101.
A third driver, Andrew Neeper, 23, of Raymond, was traveling westbound in the right lane and was unable to see the vehicles blocking the roadway, according to state police. Neeper’s 2015 Ford Fusion collided with Kittredge’s truck.
Kittredge was taken to Exeter Hospital with serious injuries and later taken by “Med-Flight” to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He was later released. Neeper was taken to Exeter Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
Heidi and John Johnson were married in 2001 and moved to New Ipswich at that time.
Johnson joined the Townsend Police Department in 1978 and spent his entire career with the department eventually rising to the rank of sergeant. He retired in July of 2018 but had remained with the department as one of their reserve officers.
Heidi Johnson worked at the Hannaford Supermarket in Rindge. She had four children, three grandchildren and was a guardian for her sister, Linda Roberts.