Police suspect alcohol in highway crash

Officials have confirmed that the Springfield, Vt., man who was ejected from his pickup late Friday afternoon as it rolled across the median and then through to the far side of the opposite lane of Interstate 91 in Hartland is still hospitalized because of life-threatening injuries he suffered during what investigators believe may have been an alcohol-related crash.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010712099897

Published December 9, 2010 in the Rutland Herald         Police suspect alcohol in highway crash         By ERIC FRANCIS, CORRESPONDENT         LEBANON, N.H. — Officials have confirmed that the Springfield, Vt., man who was ejected from his pickup late Friday afternoon as it rolled across the median and then through to the far side of the opposite lane of Interstate 91 in Hartland is still hospitalized because of life-threatening injuries he suffered during what investigators believe may have been an alcohol-related crash.         John Hoyt, 40, of Springfield was still listed in critical condition at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center late Wednesday afternoon, according to hospital spokesman Rick Adams.         Hoyt sustained severe injuries to his throat, according to witnesses, who said Hoyt was tossed against a fence bordering the southbound lane of the interstate after his blue Dodge Durango suddenly left the northbound lane and began rolling several times through the median before being destroyed when it finally struck a stand of trees down an embankment at the edge of the highway.         The driver of another pickup, which had been traveling south, had to abruptly slam on his brakes when Hoyt’s out-of-control vehicle suddenly rolled across his path of travel. That driver of that pickup — Andrew Anderson, 56, of Chester — was not hurt, but his truck sustained moderate rear-end damage when a Chevrolet Malibu driven by Kimberly Dolloff, 20, of Springfield, was unable to stop in time and slammed into Anderson from behind.         Dolloff wasn’t hurt either, but her car was wrecked by the impact.         One of a pair of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Air Response Team medical helicopters that had been launched to a bus accident just an hour beforehand farther down the interstate in Putney happened to be returning empty to the hospital and was over Hartland when Hoyt’s pickup crashed at 6 p.m. Friday, right at mile marker 65, a short distance north of the landmark double U-turns on that stretch of the highway.         The DHART helicopter ended up landing on the pavement a short distance south of the accident and airlifting Hoyt directly to DHMC after rescuers from Hartland, Hartford, and Windsor extricated him from against the deer fencing.         Vermont State Police said over the weekend that they were “actively investigating the accident” and “believe alcohol may be a factor.”         Hoyt was convicted of drunken driving — first offense — in 2008 following his arrest by Springfield police in connection with a disturbance at his girlfriend’s residence. He was subsequently convicted twice in 2009 for violations of probation, the second time for allegedly registering a 0.186 percent blood-alcohol level on a breath test after Springfield police arrived to investigate another disturbance complaint that occurred at the residence of his girlfriend. http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20101209/NEWS02/712099897