Charbonneau still listed as ‘critical’

Rhona Charbonneau, the well-known 81-year-old Hudson resident injured in a Main Street car accident Wednesday, remains in critical condition at a Boston hospital.

Charbonneau was crossing Main Street in Nashua at Kinsley Street around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday when her 1996 Lincoln Town Car and a 1999 Buick driven by 87-year-old Albert Charette, of New Bedford, Mass., collided, police said.

Both were taken to nearby Southern New Hampshire Medical Center and Charbonneau was later transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital, police said.
A hospital spokesperson said Charbonneau remained in critical condition late Thursday afternoon.

A SNHMC spokesperson wasn’t immediately available to comment on Charette’s condition.

Police blocked off a portion of Main Street on Wednesday afternoon while the Nashua Police Department’s accident reconstruction team tried to piece together what happened, according to Lt. John Fisher.

He said police had no reason to suspect speed, alcohol or other drugs were a factor in the crash.

Charbonneau is a well-known figure around Hudson. She served five terms as a county commissioner until 2006 and on the town Board of Selectmen from 1993-2003. She served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1982-84 and as a state senator from 1984-90. She also co-owns the Continental Academie of Hair Design on Derry Street.

Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to call Nashua police at 594-3500.

– JOSEPH G. COTE