Man had his car door open and was hanging out of vehicle as he drove, NH troopers say

A series of 911 calls about a man driving in the wrong direction got progressively weirder late Sunday, Dec. 5, in southern New Hampshire, according to New Hampshire State Police.

It started around 11:35 p.m., with callers telling state police someone was driving north in the southbound lanes of the F.E. Everett Turnpike in Merrimack.

“While Troopers responded to the area, additional callers reported that the vehicle in question had made a U-Turn and was now traveling south in the southbound lanes,” state police said in a news release.

“It was also reported that the driver was driving with the door open and that he was hanging outside the vehicle.”

At that point, “concerned citizens” began following the vehicle, giving state police updates on its location and what the driver was doing.

The driver had traveled nearly 8 miles south of Merrimack when troopers spotted the vehicle near the exit for Nashua, officials said.

“Upon locating the vehicle, Troopers also observed the operator to be hanging out of the open door as it traveled on the highway,” police said.

Troopers stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as Christopher Robinson, 41, of Salem, Massachusetts.

Investigators did not say if Robinson had an explanation for driving while hanging out of his car.

However, he was “arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence of drugs,” officials said.

Robinson was also citied for driving with a suspended license, officials said.

The department is asking people “who may have witnessed this event” to call 603-223-4381 and share details of what they saw.

This story was originally published December 7, 2021 at 4:26 AM with the headline "Man had his car door open and was hanging out of vehicle as he drove, NH troopers say."