A 77-year-old New Hampshire man died Wednesday night after he accidentally drove his SUV into Lake Winnipesaukee and became trapped inside.
Moultonborough police said they responded to Windward Way around 8:51 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a vehicle submerged in Lake Winnipesaukee with a person trapped inside.
When they arrived, officers learned that a 2017 Acura RDX SUV driven by Barry Haight, 77, of Moultonborough, was driving in a cul-de-sac on Windward Way and mistakenly drove down a boat ramp and into the lake, where the vehicle quickly became submerged in the water and he became trapped inside.
Police said it is believed that Haight was submerged in the water for about 90 minutes before he was located by family and neighbors who had gone out looking for him, concerned that he had not returned home from bringing household trash out to a community dumpster.
One of those neighbors, Thomas Bishop, a firefighter in Carlisle, Massachusetts, took immediate action, jumping in the water, removing Haight from the vehicle and bringing him to shore, where he was assisted by another neighbor in pulling him onto land. Bishop then started CPR and continued it until emergency personnel arrived and took over his medical care.
Haight was taken by ambulance to Concord Hospital-Laconia, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said their preliminary investigation showed that the incident "appears to be an unfortunate and tragic accident."
The SUV was removed from the lake by tow truck, with assistance from firefighters at the scene. The incident remains under investigation by Moultonborough police.
