The tragic fatal auto accident which took the life of 30 year old Katie Hamilton in Hollis / Brookline, New Hampshire on Christmas Eve has brought us all a reminder that tragedies do not take holidays. The story was made all the more heartwrenching by the fact that Katie’s father, Stephen Whitcomb, who is a volunteer firefighter, responded to the scene of the three car accident which took the life of his daughter.
Katie Hamilton, a mother of three, was killed when her car was rear-ended and pushed into the path of an oncoming pickup truck, police said. Police Chief William Quigley said the woman’s father, Stephen Whitcomb, had responded to the crash – not aware his daughter was in the car. “Her father was the one who pulled her out of the car without knowing it was her,” Quigley said.
Whitcomb, along with being a volunteer firefighter, is the owner of a plumbing business he ran with his daughter. A Facebook page used by Katie Hamilton’s mother, Catherine Whitcomb, was flooded with messages of sympathy and well wishes on Christmas Day.
Hamilton was heading south on Route 13 at its intersection with Route 130 in front of the Brookline Safety Complex when her car was hit from behind by a Toyota Tundra driven by Greg Cullen, 31, of Milford. The impact sent Hamilton’s Ford Explorer into the northbound lane, where it was hit broadside by a Ford F-250 pickup truck driven by James Ciprotti, 37, of Weare.
Hamilton was pronounced dead at the scene by Medical Examiner Richard McLaughlin. Ciprotti and Cullen were not injured. Quigley told the local CBS news station that distracted driving on the part of Cullen may have been a factor. As we are seeing with all too regular frequency and often catastrophic results is that distracted driving, including texting and the use of cell phones and other communinication devices, is becoming an increasingly troublesome reality on the roadways.
Police said as of Wednesday night no one had been charged in the crash .
The cause of the accident is under investigation, with local police assisted by state police.
Blog story from local media stories including the Manchester Union Leader