18-year-old woman skillfully survives fiery car ordeal on Route 101 in Stratham: ’Happy to be alive’

PHOTOS: The daughter of a former Portsmouth mayor had a close call on the highway Tuesday morning when her car caught fire and her brakes stopped working. Maggie Marchand, 18, was driving on Route 101 when she said a loud bang exploded from under the hood of her car. She said the vehicle began to smoke, and her brake pedal dropped all the way to the floor. For a half a mile, Marchand swerved her car to decelerate before driving down the Exit 11 ramp into Stratham. She then pulled onto the grass, where the car finally stopped, and she escaped before it became fully engulfed in flames. “I’m just happy to be alive,” Marchand said. Marchand was driving from her home in North Hampton to a bartending class in Nashua at 7:45 a.m. when she got on the highway at Exit 12.
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How did the fire start on Route 1 in Hampton? I’ll tell you, because I was there

PHOTOS: Yesterday was GORGEOUS. Sunny and 75 meant taking my wife to the driving range to learn the great (and miserably frustrating) game of golf. We were so excited to spend the afternoon outside on a summery spring day. Well, that changed very quickly. As we were about to turn left onto North Road, just off Route 1 in North Hampton, to enter the parking lot at the Sagamore Golf Center, we were left speechless... 10 feet in front of my truck, right on Rt. 1, a wire fell and started sparking. I'm not sure if you have ever seen a live wire fall and start sparking up a street, but it is scary. Should I drive? Should I stop traffic? I mean, I HAVE to call 911, right? I turned onto North Road, parked in the parking lot, and realized I HAD TO CALL. A brush fire in two spots began.
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