Teen Dies At Wheel Of Car Won In Safe-Driving Contest

HENNIKER, N.H. - A youth honored last summer as the safest teen driver in the U.S. may have fallen asleep at the wheel before his car slammed head-on into another, killing himself and the other driver, police said.

The boy, Michael Doucette, 17, of Concord, and the other driver, Sharon Ann Link, 19, of Lebanon, were pronounced dead at the scene. The crash occurred shortly after 5 p.m. Friday.

According to the police report, Doucette's car - which he won in the safe-driver competition - drifted over the center line and slammed head-on into Link's. It appeared Link may have tried to swerve out of the way of the oncoming car, as the collision happened at the extreme right side of her lane.

``Preliminary investigation shows (Doucette) may have fallen asleep at the wheel,'' the state police report said.

Last July, Doucette won the safe-driving title in a contest called ``Operation Driver Excellence'' sponsored by Dodge and AMVETS, a veterans group. The contest was held in Detroit.

He won a $5,000 scholarship, a trophy and the use of a 1989 Dodge for a year. That is the car he was driving Friday night. He also won a state competition, netting $250 cash and $500 scholarship.

Doucette, driving the winning car, was one of the attractions in a New Year's Eve parade down Concord's Main Street.

After winning the competition last year, Doucette said the contest was ``like a driver's test, only a lot harder.''