2 city men hurt in pair of 2-vehicle crashes that involved same car; charges likely

Inset, Lawrence Douglas during 2018 manslaughter trial in Strafford County Superior Court. (inset, Rochester Voice file photo)

ROCHESTER - Two Rochester men were seriously injured on Tuesday in a pair of accidents that occurred moments apart and involved a driver involved in the first accident who police say fled the scene and crashed his car again.

The driver who crashed twice has been identified as Lawrence Douglas, 42, who was charged with manslaughter in a 2016 accident on the Spaulding that left his best friend dead.

Tuesday's bizarre chain of events unfolded around 9:30 p.m, as Rochester Police, Fire and Frisbie EMS responded to a two-vehicle accident on Washington Street near the Shell gas station.

It was reported there was injury and possible entrapment, and that one of the vehicles involved had fled the scene.

While responding to that accident, another accident was reported on Brock Street near Holy Rosary Credit Union not far from the other accident.

The latter crash was reported to involve a head-on collision with injury, entrapment and heavy damage, prompting a call to Dover and Farmington Ambulance to assist.

Preliminary investigation showed the first crash occurred when a Toyota Camry, operated by Douglas was traveling into town on Washington Street in the area of the Shell when it rear-ended a maroon Hyundai Elantra operated by Donna Malone, 66, of Rochester. Police say Douglas then fled the scene and turned right onto Brock Street where he began traveling at a high rate of speed, crossed over the yellow line, and struck a Jeep Patriot operated by Reginald Trefethen, 46, of Rochester head on.

As a result of Tuesday's first accident, there was minor damage to the Elantra, with one passenger in the vehicle transported to Frisbie Memorial Hospital with minor injury.

The Brock Street accident resulted in heavy damage to both the Toyota and Jeep. Both Douglas and Trefethen had to be extricated from their vehicles and both sustained serious, non-life threatening injuries. Douglas was transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital while Trefethen was transported to Wentworth Douglas Hospital, both with serious injuries.

The Strafford County Technical Accident Reconstruction Team responded to the Brock St accident to assist with that investigation. Brock Street was closed for several hours as well as portions of Washington Street while emergency personnel tended to the accident scene and investigation.

Douglas was charged with manslaughter in an April 15, 2016, crash that killed his buddy, James Gosselin, 54, who died when Douglas crashed his Subaru Forester near Exit 15 on the Spaulding Turnpike in Rochester.

His weeklong trial in October 2019 ended with a hung jury and was declared a mistrial.

Tuesday's accidents remains under investigations at this time with charges likely to follow, police say.