Londonderry Teen Dies in Monday Crash into Brook

A 16-year-old youth who was pulled from his car after it crashed into the water at Little Cohas Brook died Monday night.

Police confirmed the identity of the driver was Craig Fairweather, a junior at Londonderry High School.

Fairweather veered off Hall Road into the water after losing control of the silver Buick Lesabre he was driving early Monday evening.

The first call reporting the crash was received on Nov. 24 at 4:10 p.m. Several subsequent callers reported seeing a vehicle submerged in the water.

An off-duty firefighter was the first to the scene, where he found the sedan upside down in the water.

Police Det. Chris Olson said upon arriving on the scene, emergency responders jumped into the water to rescue the driver.

The car was submerged in deep water and a tow truck had to partially lift the car from the water to assist rescuers as they pulled the teen out, according to Olson. The vehicle was winched out by Londonderry Fire, but was righted with the assistance of a tow truck from Murray’s Auto.

Fairweather was in the water for about 24 minutes between the time the Fire Department was notified of the crash and the time he was pulled out, according to Battalion Chief Fred Heinrich.

The teen was transported to the Elliot Hospital in Manchester, where he was pronounced dead later that night.

Londonderry Police and Fire were initially unable to determine if another person had been in the vehicle.

All the windows in the car were broken, according to Olson, and Fairweather was found in the back seat.

After a thorough search of the entire area, assisted by New Hampshire Fish and Game and Nashua Fire Department Dive Teams, emergency responders determined there had not been anyone else in the car, which Olson said was consistent with information gathered from Fairweather’s family.

“We don’t know much about how the accident happened, yet. The Technical Accident Reconstruction Team is investigating,” Olson said.

School Superintendent Nate Greenberg said 25 counselors were at the high school Tuesday to help students and staff who are grieving.

Counselors came from the State and Londonderry Middle School to assist.

Greenberg said Fairweather was an honors student and a trumpeter in the school’s Marching Band for three years.

“He was an absolutely wonderful kid, someone the faculty and students loved,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, and we will certainly do whatever we can to provide anything they need. We’re a 1,600 student high school and a community of 25,000 people, but it really is a small community and I think everyone feels this loss.”