GOFFSTOWN — Following the recent emergency suspension of dentist Gregory A. Tracy, Goffstown Police say their records indicate a pattern of erratic driving by Tracy began in February and March.

Tracy, accused by the Board of Dental Examiners of writing more than 20 prescriptions for himself at several different pharmacies in recent months, has been suspended for 60 days and ordered to attend a hearing on Sept. 10 to determine his status as a dentist.

Goffstown Police Chief Patrick Sullivan said Tracy was reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles by his department after an accident on March 12, when police felt a pattern was being established.

According to Sullivan, Tracy was issued two warnings for yellow line violations, one in February and one in March, and was also stopped for going onto the curbing at the roundabout on Wallace Road.

“It is a violation of the law to cross a yellow line,” Sullivan said, “but it's not necessarily an indication of impairment.”

Sullivan said there was no indication in any instance that Tracy was impaired.

But a two-car accident at the intersection of Tibbetts Hill Road and Lauren Lane on the morning of March 12 led police to believe that Tracy's driving was becoming an issue.

“This is the one that initiated our letter to Motor Vehicles,” he said.

Tracy told police he was on his way to work when the accident occurred at about 8:25 a.m., Sullivan said.

According to officers at the scene, Tracy did not appear to be impaired.

“We look at subtle things, like what the interaction is like, can he comply with simple requests, can he explain what happened,” Sullivan said. “At the scene, they felt he was okay to drive away.”

When the officers were driving behind Tracy after he left, however, they noticed he was driving erratically, and pulled him over.

Sullivan said Tracy indicated he was nervous and upset about the accident, but also acknowledged that he was taking the prescription medications Ambien and Cymbalta, as well as medication for a medical condition.

At that point, Sullivan said while it was reasonable for Tracy to be nervous, his operation was still unsafe and officers opted to drive him home.

“You have to ask, was it because of the medicine or because of the accident?” Sullivan said. “Obviously, he shouldn't have been on the road, so the safest thing to do was to get him a ride home.”

Once at Tracy's home, Tracy's wife expressed a concern about his possible dependence on the drugs, Sullivan confirmed.

Shortly after the accident, police sent a letter to the DMV, requesting a hearing on Tracy's ability to operate a motor vehicle.

That hearing was not held until June 12, Sullivan said, and Tracy was cleared to operate a motor vehicle.

Tracy did not return calls for comment.

kremillard@newstote.com