Craig Sprowl

BRENTWOOD — Craig W. Sprowl, the 45-year-old Seacoast area man charged Friday with allegedly striking, and killing, retired Hudson police Sgt. Donna Briggs as she rode her bicycle along Route 125 in Kingston on Tuesday, told investigators he had been “nodding off at the wheel” and “drifting off the road” when on one occasion, he “came to” when he heard a loud noise, according to police reports.

The noise was either his tires hitting the “rumble strips” in the breakdown lane or “a bang” of some kind, Sprowl told an investigator.

That bang, as it turned out, was the sound of the 2005 GMC Yukon Sprowl was driving striking a bicycle and its rider, retired Hudson police Sgt. Donna Briggs, sending her and the bike down an embankment, where she would succumb to the injuries she sustained in the collision.

The widespread search that police launched after Kingston officers, responding to a report of a missing bicyclist, found Briggs and the bike some eight or nine hours after the 11:30 a.m. collision, led investigators to Sprowl, who had recently been staying at a Day’s Inn on Central Avenue in Dover.

Also taken into custody at the time of Sprowl’s arrest around 9 a.m. Friday was his wife, Angela M. Sprowl, 39, who was charged with one count each of hindering apprehension and stalking — domestic violence, which are Class A misdemeanors.

The reason for the charges isn’t clear, but the hindering apprehension charge may be connected to allegations that police found the suspect vehicle hidden in the woods.

Although defendants charged with misdemeanors are typically released on personal recognizance or low bail, Angela Sprowl’s bail was set at $10,000 cash, with orders to have no contact with Craig Sprowl, pending her arraignment in Portsmouth district court.

Craig Sprowl, meanwhile, faces one count each of negligent homicide and conduct after an accident. Rockingham County Superior Court Judge David Ruoff ordered him held preventive detention, and set bail at $500,000 cash.

In setting bail, Ruoff noted that Sprowl “has an extensive record, a history of violations of probation and was (out) on bail in another court” at the time of the collision.

Ruoff also noted that Sprowl allegedly “displayed elusive conduct prior to apprehension.”

Sprowl is next due in court on Oct. 25 for a dispositional hearing.

According to the police affidavit filed in the case, it was the discovery by investigators of a broken headlight lens at the scene that would point them in the right direction.

Still visible on the lens was the part number, which investigators jotted down then conducted an internet search to try and match the number to the type of vehicle the lens fits.

They narrowed it down to a GMC Yukon manufactured between 2000-2006, then set out to review security camera footage from two nearby businesses, which, police said, showed a blue Yukon travel past, then turn around and pass by going north.

The vehicle was last seen turning onto New Boston Road, which is a short distance from the scene.

Investigators ultimately found the Yukon at Top Line Motor Sports, a vehicle dealership on Rockingham Road in Derry, where Sprowl was employed.

They spoke with the dealership’s current and former owners, one of whom told investigators he sold the Yukon to Sprowl about a month ago, according to the affidavit.

In a conversation with investigators shortly before he was arrested, Sprowl was said to be cooperative and willing to speak with them.

He allegedly told them that following the collision, he stopped to inspect the damage to the Yukon, but when an investigator asked him why he didn’t report the crash at that time, he “was unable to provide an explanation,” the reports state.

Sprowl then allegedly mentioned to the investigators that he had “seen on the news that a woman had been struck and killed in the area he was in” on Tuesday, the reports state.

He asked them “if he had killed her,” an investigator wrote, adding that “Sprowl was remorseful and apologetic.”

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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