Several vehicles were run off Interstate 93 near Manchester Thursday night by a wrong-way driver later charged with driving while intoxicated.

The driver, identified as Douglas Lippert, 54, of Milford, NH, entered the highway at Exit 5 in Londonderry traveling northbound in the southbound lanes, according to New Hampshire State Police. Drivers were forced off the road when Lippert reached the area of mile marker 17 in Manchester

One of the vehicles that took evasive action to avoid a head-on collision wound up hitting a guardrail. The vehicle driven by Paulo Santos Moreira of Medford, Massachusetts, suffered heavy damage.

State Police with wrong way car on I-93 in Londonderry 10/13/22
State Police with wrong way car on I-93 in Londonderry 10/13/22 (NH State Police)
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"I was there! It was frightening! I was taking my brother home and we saw it in the left lane driving northbound. My brother called 911 and at mile marker 17 we saw 2 vehicles off the road. The white car had airbags deployed," Niki Shappell wrote in the comments of the Rockingham Alert Facebook page.

After traveling for about two miles in the wrong direction Lippert's silver sedan was forced to stop in the left lane when it was disabled by police around mile post 18.8. Lippert was taken into custody and also charged with reckless conduct, conduct after accident, and reckless driving.

Police asked anyone with information about the incident to call them at 603-223-4381.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH

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