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Crash closes Route 30 for almost six hours
Thursday April 26, 2012
BRATTLEBORO -- A head-on collision on Route 30 under the Interstate 91 overpass sent three people to the hospital, one with serious injuries.
According to police, Dustin W. North, 32, of Putney, was traveling toward Brattleboro in a 2005 Audi S4 when he struck head on a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta at about 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
North was given a roadside sobriety test while the Brattleboro Fire Department used the Jaws of Life to extricate a man from the Jetta. It took about an hour to extricate the man, who was conscious as he was wheeled on a gurney into the back of a Rescue Inc. ambulance.
North left the scene in the back seat of a police cruiser and was later cited for driving under the influence of drugs resulting in serious injury and grossly negligent operation of a vehicle, also resulting in serious injury.
He was ordered to appear in court on May 8.
The names and conditions of the three people taken to the hospital have not yet been released.
A witness who was driving to Brattleboro on his way to work said he pulled to the side of the road to make room for an oncoming emergency vehicle with lights flashing and siren blaring. To the witness' amazement, a car split the gap between him and the ambulance.
The witness told the Reformer he watched as the driver of the Audi weaved back and forth, crossing the white and yellow lines at least 15 times.
"Before the accident he passed two cars in front of me," said the witness, who asked that his name not be released. "He floored it. It looked like (the cars he was passing) were standing still."
The witness did not see the actual accident but as he was rounding the corner at the future West River Park he saw the two cars spinning in the middle of Route 30 following the impact.
He said as he arrived on the scene, the passenger in the Audi opened his door and fell out onto the pavement, leading to the initial but erroneous report that one person had been ejected during the crash.
The witness said he would have called police, but his mobile phone didn't have a signal.
He was visibly upset by what he had seen.
"You don't know what you are going to see in terms of the hurt," he said. "You feel the sadness and frustration of knowing that you saw someone not driving responsibly ... and causing an accident."
Route 30 was closed from about 11:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. as Brattleboro police, assisted by the Vermont State Police, conducted an investigation. Traffic was diverted onto Upper Dummerston Road during that time period.
The Brattleboro Fire Department was assisted by emergency responders from Rescue Inc.
According to police, no additional arrests are expected.
Crash closes Route 30 for almost six hours
Thursday April 26, 2012
BRATTLEBORO -- A head-on collision on Route 30 under the Interstate 91 overpass sent three people to the hospital, one with serious injuries.
According to police, Dustin W. North, 32, of Putney, was traveling toward Brattleboro in a 2005 Audi S4 when he struck head on a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta at about 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
North was given a roadside sobriety test while the Brattleboro Fire Department used the Jaws of Life to extricate a man from the Jetta. It took about an hour to extricate the man, who was conscious as he was wheeled on a gurney into the back of a Rescue Inc. ambulance.
North left the scene in the back seat of a police cruiser and was later cited for driving under the influence of drugs resulting in serious injury and grossly negligent operation of a vehicle, also resulting in serious injury.
He was ordered to appear in court on May 8.
The names and conditions of the three people taken to the hospital have not yet been released.
A witness who was driving to Brattleboro on his way to work said he pulled to the side of the road to make room for an oncoming emergency vehicle with lights flashing and siren blaring. To the witness' amazement, a car split the gap between him and the ambulance.
The witness told the Reformer he watched as the driver of the Audi weaved back and forth, crossing the white and yellow lines at least 15 times.
"Before the accident he passed two cars in front of me," said the witness, who asked that his name not be released. "He floored it. It looked like (the cars he was passing) were standing still."
The witness did not see the actual accident but as he was rounding the corner at the future West River Park he saw the two cars spinning in the middle of Route 30 following the impact.
He said as he arrived on the scene, the passenger in the Audi opened his door and fell out onto the pavement, leading to the initial but erroneous report that one person had been ejected during the crash.
The witness said he would have called police, but his mobile phone didn't have a signal.
He was visibly upset by what he had seen.
"You don't know what you are going to see in terms of the hurt," he said. "You feel the sadness and frustration of knowing that you saw someone not driving responsibly ... and causing an accident."
Route 30 was closed from about 11:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. as Brattleboro police, assisted by the Vermont State Police, conducted an investigation. Traffic was diverted onto Upper Dummerston Road during that time period.
The Brattleboro Fire Department was assisted by emergency responders from Rescue Inc.
According to police, no additional arrests are expected.