Police: Man who crashed into building was using drugs

Police suspect that a man who drove his car into the side of a building at the Springfield Shopping Plaza on Sunday afternoon was under the influence of "bath salts" or some similar synthetic drug.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20121217/NEWS02/712179933

Police: Man who crashed into building was using drugs By ERIC FRANCIS CORRESPONDENT | December 17,2012 Rutland Herald WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Police suspect that a man who drove his car into the side of a building at the Springfield Shopping Plaza on Sunday afternoon was under the influence of “bath salts” or some similar synthetic drug. Vincent Turcio, 24, of Springfield, pleaded innocent to grossly negligent operation of a vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, and disorderly conduct during his arraignment at the criminal court in White River Junction this week. Turcio was released on several pretrial conditions, including a court order that he “not consume any substance labeled ‘Not for human consumption,’” which is the inscription that police said was written on the back of a foil packet with a skull and the brand name “Mind Trip” printed on it that firefighters found on the front seat of Turcio’s destroyed car. Judge Robert Gerety also ordered Turcio to undergo an outpatient evaluation to see if he is competent to stand trial after a mental health screener who spoke to Turcio in a holding cell described him as “a person in need of treatment,” but not in a hospital setting. Springfield Police Officer Jeremy Fitzgibbons and several other police units responded to the Plaza late Sunday afternoon and found a Saturn Ion crashed into the side of the Finn and Stone Insurance Company. Fitzgibbons wrote in his affidavit that “the vehicle had sustained heavy damage and was still running with smoke and steam pouring from the engine compartment.” Tire marks at the scene showed that Turcio had initially collided with a hatchback parked near the Dollar Store and then traveled up and over three separate traffic islands before finally going airborne into the building. A large crowd of people had gathered and were waving officers over to the nearby pedestrian footbridge where Fitzgibbons said several people had been trying to prevent Turcio from leaving the area. “I immediately noticed that he had a dazed appearance about him, as evidenced by him looking around as if having trouble focusing and he seemed slow to respond to people around him,” Fitzgibbons said, adding that Turcio wasn’t able to remember anything about what had happened and started to walk away from police on at least two occasions. Fitzgibbons said that after firefighters handed him the suspicious foil packet from the wrecked car, Turcio tried to take it from them, allegedly saying it was his property. When a police sergeant then told Turcio to put his hands behind his back so he could be handcuffed, Turcio allegedly refused to do so and struggled for approximately 45 seconds before being wrestled to the ground and placed in custody. Back at the police station, Sgt. Rick King, a certified drug recognition expert, was called in to evaluate Turcio. King’s opinion was that Turcio was under the influence of something and a blood sample was taken. Further charges may be pending depending on the results of those tests, police said. Fitzgibbons wrote in his report that “at the conclusion of Sgt. King’s evaluation I heard Turcio say under his breath, ‘I’m so friggen stoned.’” Turcio, who has been living in Springfield for about two years and worked for a time in construction, has a record of drug offenses in Connecticut. The original felony charges against him in Connecticut were reduced after he spent a year participating in a “drug court” program in that state.