Woman charged in crash that forced victim to have emergency C-section
Amber Fitts, 21, to appear in court next month
A 21-year-old Ashland woman is facing charges stemming from a crash on Saturday.
Dunbarton police have charged Amber Fitts with vehicular assault and failure to stop at a stop sign following the investigation of a two-car crash that happened on Stark Highway South (Route 13) and Gorham Pond Road.
Police, along with Dunbarton Fire/EMS, were called to the scene at 12:52 p.m. on a report of a rollover crash.
Witnesses told investigators that Fitts failed to stop for the stop sign at the end of Gorham Pond Road.
Her vehicle, a 2004 Honda Civic, struck a southbound 2011 Cadillac Escalade being driven by Brad Fournier of Dunbarton.
Brad Fournier’s vehicle went out of control, flipped several times and struck a rock wall before landing upright.
Both vehicles were heavily damaged and were towed from the scene.
One of the passengers in the Escalade, Kaitlin Fournier, was 37 weeks pregnant. Her right calf was severely injured in the crash, causing her to lose a significant amount of blood.
A witness helped apply a belt as a tourniquet to help control the bleeding while waiting for first responders.
Kaitlin Fournier was taken to Concord Hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries and underwent an emergency C-section.
Following the birth of a healthy baby girl, Kaitlin Fournier underwent surgery on her severely injured leg.
Fitts and Brad Fournier suffered minor injuries in the crash.
The Fourniers' 5-year-old daughter was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash and was uninjured.
Stark Highway South was shut down for over an hour.
Goffstown police, Goffstown EMS and Bow EMS also assisted at the scene.
After conducting an investigation that included reviewing witness statements, crash scene photographs and measurements, Dunbarton police applied for an arrest warrant on Tuesday.
Fitts turned herself in to Dunbarton police on Wednesday. She was released on $5,000 personal recognizance bond and is scheduled to appear for arraignment in the 6th Circuit – Concord District Court on Monday, Sept. 26.
If convicted, Fitts faces up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
The vehicular-assault complaint alleges that Fitts' negligent operation of a vehicle caused serious bodily injury to Kaitlin Fournier.