Chester man injured after driving into gorge

A 38-year-old Chester man was listed in fair condition Monday at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center after he drove his sport utility vehicle into the 200-foot-deep Brockway Mills Gorge on Sunday night.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20120731/NEWS02/707319949

Published July 31, 2012 in the Rutland Herald Police say Chester man drove into Brockway Mills Gorge By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer BROCKWAY MILLS — A 38-year-old Chester man was listed in fair condition Monday at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center after he drove his sport utility vehicle into the 200-foot-deep Brockway Mills Gorge on Sunday night. Gregory Picz was airlifted to the medical center with a serious head injury, according to Vermont State Police Sgt. Anthony French. Picz intentionally drove his vehicle along the railroad tracks and off the embankment and into the gorge below, according to French, who said that witnesses’ accounts supported that. Picz was charged with driving under the influence. According to news reports, Picz and his family lost their home in Chester to a fire in May. Picz was able to get out of his Ford Ranger, which landed in the Williams River with the driver’s side underwater and climb up the steep gorge, calling for help. Neighbors heard his cries and came to his aid. Laurel Green and Steve Crofter, whose home is the closest to the gorge, said they were asleep when they heard the crash and the cries for help. Picz, who they didn’t know, was disoriented and appeared to have serious injuries to his head and elbow, the couple said. Crofter said that Picz had climbed up the steep banks of the gorge, but had gotten stuck behind the old foundations of former mills in the area. He said he helped him over those stone walls and finally up on flat ground. Crofter and Green then took Picz to the nearest home to call an ambulance. “He was pretty disoriented,” Green said. Crofter said that Picz told him he was “out hiking” and made no mention of his car in the river. “It didn’t add up,” said Crofter. Ashley Anthony, another neighbor, said she had heard the loud crash and thud and immediately called 911, and stayed on the phone with 911 until emergency workers arrived. Anthony said she heard both a man and a woman screaming for help. At first, rescue workers were afraid other people — including his children — were with him at the time, and the Springfield Technical Rescue and Brattleboro Fire Department Dive Team were called to help. Picz grew up a short distance from the gorge, and family members came to the scene. Hillside Towing of Springfield brought in a large rig to pull the smashed vehicle out of the Williams River and up the very steep and rocky gorge. Picz’ vehicle was removed from the gorge shortly after 2 a.m., allowing train traffic to resume uninterrupted. The Rockingham Volunteer Fire Department, aided by the Bellows Falls Fire Department, assisted at the scene. Rescue workers from the Rockingham Volunteer Fire Department and Hillside Towing of Springfield worked until the early morning hours Monday to pull out the vehicle that Gregory Picz, 38, of Chester drove into the 200-foot Brockway Mills Gorge in Rockingham late Sunday night. Photo: Susan Smallheer / Staff PhoTo