By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
NEW LONDON, N.H. — Authorities have identified the victim of a single motor vehicle accident in New London as a 26-year-old California woman, who was the passenger in a car that crashed on Little Sunapee Road just before 1 a.m. on Sunday.
Salma Garcia, 26, of Mission Viejo, California, was pronounced dead “as a result of injuries suffered in the crash,” according to a released statement by the New Hampshire State Police Department of Safety. Garcia’s name was previously withheld before being identified by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The driver, 27-year-old Vincent Mendillo of Mission Viejo, California, was seriously injured and taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to be treated.
According to the N.H. State Police statement, at about 12:50 p.m. on Oct. 6, officers from the New London Police Department and Sunapee Police Department, along with members of the New London Fire Department and New London Hospital EMS, responded to a report of a collision on Little Sunapee Road.
First responders found that a 2024 Hyundai Elantra had been traveling southeast when the driver failed to negotiate a curve in the road to the right. The vehicle went off the left side of the road and struck a utility trailer that was parked on the side of the road. The Hyundai reportedly caught fire.
The New London Police Department requested that the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction (C.A.R.) Unit investigate the crash. They have been assisted by State Police Troop D, as well as members of the N.H. State Fire Marshal’s Office.
The cause of the accident is currently under investigation. Additional information regarding the accident, as well as whether there are charges expected and the extent of the injuries for Mendillo were sent to Public Information Officer Tyler Dumont. Dumont said on Tuesday that he did not have further information to provide.
A request for the patient record for Mendillo was made to Dartmouth Health Media Relations Senior Manager Audra Burns, but information was not available by deadline.
Those with information that could help with the investigation are asked to contact Detective Sgt. Brian Ross at 603-223-8490 or [email protected].
