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New England news in brief

BEDFORD

Man killed when car hits snowbank

A Lowell man died Friday evening after his car veered off a Bedford road and crashed into a snowbank. The single-car crash occurred around 6:30 p.m. off the northbound side of Route 3, police said in a statement. Upon arriving at the scene, troopers discovered that Sonny Prak, 45, had driven his 2001 Toyota Celica off the left side of the road and struck the snowbank. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Prak was taken to Lahey Hospital and Medical Clinic in Burlington, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

New Hampton, N.H.

Driver arrested after chase, crash

A Peabody man was arrested Saturday morning on charges of drunken driving and speeding, after leading police on a high-speed chase on Interstate 93 during a snowstorm, New Hampshire State Police said. William G. Mullen, 58, reached speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour as he sped along the highway in New Hampton, police said in a statement. He slammed on the brakes to avoid rear-ending a car, nearly struck a trooper responding to a car crash, and hit a snowbank, the statement said. He continued driving for another mile and a half after the crash and refused to stop for the trooper. He was charged with drunken driving while intoxicated, subsequent offense, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, operating after a license suspension, and violating the state’s open container law. His driving privileges in New Hampshire were suspended. Mullen is scheduled to appear at Laconia Circuit Court on March 9.

MOULTONBOROUGH, N.H.

2 dead after falling through icy lake

Governor Chris Sununu said two people are dead and one is missing after falling through the ice on Lake Winnepesaukee. Sununu told reporters Saturday evening there have been multiple accidents throughout New Hampshire involving snowmobiles and sleds. Sununu confirmed the fatalities were in two different locations of the lake, but both accidents were on the northern end of the lake. The Republican governor said there is still one person missing on the southern side. No one has been identified. Thousands of people were on the lake for an annual ice fishing derby, but Sununu said authorities don’t believe there was any direct involvement between the derby and the accidents. He urged people to use caution and to avoid open water. (AP)

Manchester, N.H.

Minor earthquake reported

A 2.2 magnitude earthquake shook the Manchester, N.H., area Saturday afternoon, according to the US Geological Survey. The quake struck around 2:15 p.m. in Bedford, a town southwest of Manchester. It was about 4.5 miles below the surface, the agency wrote in an online posting. Small earthquakes are not uncommon in New England, no matter the time of year, said Paul Caruso, a USGS geologist. “They happen when they happen,’’ he said. “Earthquakes have no time of year, or time of day, or anything like that when they’re most common.’’

East Granby, Conn.

Guard sends 300 troops to Middle East

A send-off ceremony was scheduled Saturday for 300 members of the Connecticut Air National Guard who are deploying to the Middle East. The 103rd Airlift Wing will provide maintenance, security, and logistics support for missions in the region. The ceremony was set for the Bradley Air National Guard Base Hangar in East Granby. This is the unit’s first large-scale deployment since 2013. Recently the unit has deployed members and equipment to provide support in Iraq, Afghanistan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. (AP)