Fiery Rescue
NH State Trooper Pulls Driver From Burning Car
Also on today’s menu at the News Café:
80 Percent ICE Arrestees In Maine Had No Criminal Record
Mixed Financial Picture For New Hampshire Residents
A state trooper assigned to Governor Kelly Ayotte’s security detail pulled a Massachusetts driver, Yevgeny Mirman, 51, from a burning car after it crashed into the Bedford toll plaza on the F.E. Everett Turnpike on March 31. Mirman, the only occupant of the 2026 Lucid Gravity, was treated for serious injuries at an area hospital.
Colonel Mark B. Hall said of the rescue, “Certainly, their actions were heroic in what they did. Without hesitation, they put themselves in danger to render aid to someone who was in need of it.”
Between 11:55 a.m. when the crash was reported and 5 p.m., northbound lanes were closed, with one lane still closed after 5 p.m.
Discussion: No charges were immediately filed, but state police are continuing their investigation into the crash, which occurred two days after a rollover crash on the southbound lane of the Bedford toll plaza. In that case, Aracelia Valentin, 45, of Lawrence MA, was charged with aggravated DWI, driving under the influence, and reckless conduct with her 2009 Honda Accord. She sustained only minor injuries which were treated at an area hospital.
80 Percent ICE Arrestees In Maine Had No Criminal Record
While funding for the Department of Homeland Security remains blocked as members of Congress seek reforms of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Deportation Data Project reports that, of the 190 people arrested over a five-day surge of activity in Maine, only 6 percent of them had criminal convictions and 14 percent had pending criminal charges. That left 80 percent of arrestees with neither criminal charges nor convictions.
Fewer than half of the arrests during the surge were “targeted” individuals, with the majority of the arrests falling under the category of “collateral” without an explanation of what that means.
Thirty-seven people arrested during the surge have been deported or voluntarily left the country.
Discussion: Since January, ICE’s average daily arrest rate has fallen roughly back in line with pre-surge levels.
Mixed Financial Picture For New Hampshire Residents
April is National Financial Literacy Month as well as being the month for Tax Day, so WalletHub has released two studies: its 2026 Tax Burden by State report and 2026’s Most & Least Financially Literate States.
The organization compared all 50 states on property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes, measuring them as a percentage of total personal income. New Hampshire ranked third in property tax burden, 42nd in individual income tax burden, 49th in overall tax burden, and 50th in total sales and excise tax burden.
Nearly 2 in 5 Americans report having more credit card debt this year, with New Hampshire in third place for the percentage of unbanked households, fifth for financial literacy, seventh for the percentage of adults who spend more than they earn, eighth for the percentage of adults who compare credit cards before applying, 12th for those with rainy-day funds, 18th for high school financial literacy, and 19th for adults paying only the minimum amount on their credit card debt.
Discussion: WalletHub’s surveys can be deceiving. An earlier study found the Granite State to offer the best return on investment for its taxes, but it did not take into account the hidden taxes that residents pay. While the money spent by the state is spent wisely in most cases, that is because it spends so little that its spending goes to the more critical needs (an exception being the Education Freedom Accounts that now allow wealthy families to avoid paying what they can afford for private schools by forcing lower-income residents to subsidize their benefits). By shifting the burden onto local residents, it prevents them from saving money and encourages them to spend more than they make to meet their needs.