Most politicians spend their days managing optics from behind a mahogany desk. It’s rare to see one standing on the side of a highway, clutching a fire extinguisher while a luxury electric vehicle burns just a few feet away. But that’s exactly what happened Tuesday at the Bedford Toll Plaza on the Everett Turnpike.
New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte and her security detail didn't just witness a horrific crash; they became part of the survival story for a 51-year-old Massachusetts man named Yevgeny Mirman. When his 2026 Lucid Gravity slammed into the toll structure just before noon, the car didn't just crumple. It transformed into a blowtorch.
The Reality of the Bedford Toll Plaza Crash
If you’ve ever driven through Bedford, you know that toll plaza is a bottleneck. It’s a high-stress point where lanes merge and speeds fluctuate. Police haven't confirmed why Mirman’s vehicle hit the barrier, but the results were immediate. Because the Lucid is an electric vehicle (EV), the fire wasn't a typical gasoline flare-up. EV fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish due to thermal runaway in the battery cells.
While the fire was growing, Mirman was trapped. This wasn't a situation where bystanders could wait for the fire department to arrive. Minutes—maybe seconds—were the only thing he had left.
A veteran State Trooper assigned to the Governor’s security detail didn't wait for a briefing. He ran toward the heat. Along with two other bystanders, the trooper reached into the burning wreck and pulled Mirman through a window. Think about that for a second. You’re reaching into a frame of melting metal and high-voltage batteries to drag a grown man to safety. That’s not just "doing your job." That’s pure instinct.
Beyond the Photo Op
I’ve seen plenty of "hero" stories that turn out to be carefully staged PR stunts. This wasn't one of them. Colonel Mark B. Hall of the New Hampshire State Police was blunt during the press briefing. He noted that the Governor herself got out of her vehicle and actively looked for ways to help, eventually grabbing a fire extinguisher from a nearby car.
Was she going to put out a lithium-ion fire with a handheld canister? Honestly, probably not. Those fires require thousands of gallons of water and specialized cooling. But she was there. She was trying. In an era where leaders are often criticized for being out of touch, seeing a Governor willing to get soot on her suit matters.
The driver was rushed to a local hospital with serious injuries. He’s expected to survive, which is a miracle considering the state of the vehicle in the aftermath photos. The northbound lanes were shut down for hours while the Department of Transportation checked if the toll plaza was even structurally sound anymore.
Why This Matters for New Hampshire Drivers
This incident highlights a growing concern that New Hampshire's Task Force on Highway Safety has been shouting about for months. Our roads are getting more dangerous. Just two days before this crash, another driver hit the same toll plaza and was charged with a DUI.
Governor Ayotte has been pushing Senate Bill 620 to close loopholes for impaired drivers who refuse breathalyzer tests. While there’s no word yet on whether impairment played a role in the Lucid crash, the context is hard to ignore. We have a 75% test refusal rate in this state—the second highest in the country.
When you see your Governor standing on the asphalt, watching a trooper save a life, it shifts the conversation from policy papers to reality. It’s a reminder that highway safety isn't an abstract concept discussed in Concord. It’s a life-and-death struggle happening at 11:55 a.m. on a Tuesday.
What you should do next
- Check your own car's safety gear. Do you actually have a fire extinguisher? Most people don't. If you drive an EV, understand that your response time in a crash needs to be even faster.
- Watch the merges. Toll plazas like Bedford are high-risk zones. Slow down earlier than you think you need to.
- Pay attention to SB 620. If you care about road safety, look into the legislation the Governor is backing. Whether you agree with her politics or not, the data on test refusals in New Hampshire is staggering and needs to be addressed.
The trooper’s name is being withheld because of his sensitive position on the security detail, but his actions are the reason a family in Massachusetts isn't planning a funeral today. Sometimes, the system works exactly how it’s supposed to.
