HAMPTON, N.H. — Police are conducting a criminal investigation into a car accident that killed two cyclists after a driver plowed into them during an annual bike ride along the New England coastline, the husband of one of the victims said Sunday.

Investigators said a car driven by 20-year-old Darriean Hess, of Seabrook, crossed the center line and struck a group of riders Saturday morning on a bridge in Hampton, N.H., during the 40th annual Granite State Wheelmen Tri-State Seacoast Century ride.

The crash killed two Massachusetts women, Pamela Wells, 60, of South Hamilton, and Elise Bouchard, 52, of Danvers. Two other riders suffered nonlife-threatening injuries, police said.

Wells’ husband, Tom Rogers, said police told him they’re treating the accident as a criminal investigation.

“They have the bicycles. They confiscated her phone, and they took a blood sample. And they have her car,” Rogers said.

The annual cycling event features two days of rides along routes in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

 


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