MERRIMACK – A Manchester man died and his passenger was seriously injured when his car flipped on the F.E. Everett Turnpike last Friday afternoon.

Fred Bell, 56, died at the scene after being ejected from the green SUV around 1 p.m. on June 11, according to New Hampshire State Police.

His passenger, Demetre Turner, 33, of Bedford, was partially out of the vehicle when first responders arrived. She was seriously injured and was eventually flown by DHART helicopter to a Boston hospital, police said.

The crash caused major traffic disruption. Both lanes were closed until the DHART helicopter took off. Even after traffic was opened, it remained stop-and-go for at least 2 miles in the northbound lanes well after as cars were directed around the crash onto a wide gravel shoulder near a tractor and steamroller. The crash happened in a construction zone.

Hundreds of other cars clogged Daniel Webster Highway in Merrimack when they exited the turnpike trying to get around the traffic jam.

The accident happened about a mile south of the Bedford tolls, immediately before a billboard reading “After you die, you will meet God.”

The vehicle came to a rest on its roof and remained there until just before 2:30 p.m., when it was tipped back on its wheels and loaded onto a wrecker.

Initial scanner reports indicated that two people had been ejected from the vehicle and another was trapped inside. The state medical examiner was also called to the scene.

State Trooper Bryan Plamondon is investigating the crash.

It doesn’t appear that alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash and it appears neither occupant was wearing a seat belt, police said.

State police were assisted at the scene by the Merrimack Police and Fire departments and the state Department of Transportation, police said.

Joseph G. Cote can be reached at 594-6415 or jcote@nashuatelegraph.com.