A Massachusetts man is facing multiple charges after New Hampshire State Police say he drove a white pickup truck the wrong way on Interstate 293 late Sunday night, heading straight toward a trooper before finally being stopped in Hooksett. Thomas Burke, 39, of Lowell, was taken into custody at the scene and now faces a lengthy list of charges tied to the incident.
According to Patch, troopers began receiving reports around 11:45 p.m. Sunday of a wrong-way driver on I-293 south near Exit 2 in Manchester, with the vehicle described as a white pickup truck speeding north in the southbound lane. New Hampshire State Police received the initial report of the wrong-way driver on the interstate, and troopers from two troops began searching the area to locate the truck.
Not long after, a trooper spotted the pickup driving head-on toward him, police said, and pulled it over in Hooksett. As MassLive reports, multiple troopers had responded in an effort to locate the driver as he traveled northbound from Exit 2 toward mile marker 10.4. Burke was arrested at the scene, and authorities identified him as the 39-year-old Lowell man found behind the wheel.
Conflicting Accounts of Where the Chase Ended
Exactly where the trooper finally stopped Burke depends on which report you read. The Concord Monitor places the stop at mile marker 10.4 in Hooksett, while WMUR reports the trooper stopped Burke at mile marker 10. The Union Leader offers yet another description, saying the trooper stopped the vehicle about 10 miles from where it was first spotted, near Exit 11 in Hooksett.
Despite the harrowing head-on encounter, the Concord Monitor's report notes that no vehicular accident was involved in the incident. Burke now faces charges of felony reckless conduct, aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, and possessing an open container of marijuana, according to New Hampshire State Police as relayed by Patch.
Court Date Set, Troopers Seek Witnesses
Burke is scheduled to appear in Hooksett District Court on Dec. 3, per the Union Leader's report. State police are also asking anyone who witnessed the incident or has additional information to contact Trooper Kevin Barry at [email protected].
Wrong-way driving incidents have cropped up before on the same stretch of highway. New Hampshire State Police previously described a March 2025 episode on I-293 in which a driver stopped near mile marker 10.2 before continuing in the opposite direction and being stopped again near mile marker 9.4, and a December 2024 incident on I-93 near Concord in which another motorist swerved off the road trying to avoid a head-on collision with a wrong-way driver. Neither of those earlier cases is connected to Burke's arrest, but they underscore how often troopers in the area have had to respond to drivers heading the wrong direction on area interstates.
