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| Mark Ankuda |
A Springfield man was injured Saturday morning in a crash on snow-covered I-91, and a little later a tractor-trailer accident partially closed the interstate’s northbound lanes for more than two hours.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150125/THISJUSTIN/701259935
Snowstorm leads to crashes on I-91
Staff Report | January 25,2015
Two people were killed in a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 91, one of several accidents on that highway in different parts of the state Friday night and Saturday.
A Springfield man was injured Saturday morning in a crash on snow-covered I-91, and a little later a tractor-trailer accident partially closed the interstate’s northbound lanes for more than two hours.
But the worst crash was Friday night when two people, so far unidentified, were killed on I-91 in St. Johnsbury.
Vermont State Police said Neal Robinson of Stoddard, N.H., lost control of his car and it ended up in the highway’s passing lane, where it was hit by a truck driven by Denis Belanger of Saint-Pie, Quebec. A third car then struck the truck.
It happened shortly before 9 p.m. Friday near the St. Johnsbury-Lyndonville town line. The driver and passenger in the third vehicle were found dead, police said. They will be identified once their families have been notified.
Autopsies will be performed by the state medical examiner.
The police report did not cite the road or weather conditions Friday night. An investigation is continuing.
The next morning, a snowstorm contributed to several more crashes on I-91, two of them in Windsor.
State police and Windsor emergency crews responded at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday to a two-vehicle crash on I-91 at mile marker 54.
Edward O’Brien, 74, of Easton, N.H., was driving south in a 2007 Ford F150 pickup when he lost control and slid across the median into the northbound lane, police said.
O’Brien struck a 2008 Ford cargo van driven by Mark Ankuda, 52, of Springfield, police said.
The van was pushed off the pavement and landed off the right side of the highway.
Ankuda was taken by ambulance to Springfield Hospital to be evaluated for back or neck injuries. O’Brien was not injured, police said.
O’Brien was issued a warning for failing to stay in his lane, police said.
Shortly before 11 a.m. a tractor-trailer jackknifed and went partially off the interstate near mile marker 58 in Windsor, blocking the northbound lanes.
Paul Josias, 48, of Delray Beach, Fla., was driving a 2008 Freightliner tractor-trailer when he lost control in the snow, police said.
He struck a guardrail and crossed both northbound lanes into the median, police said. The cab was stopped in the median and the trailer blocked both northbound lanes.
Police directed traffic around the accident by using the breakdown lane until the road was reopened around 1 p.m.
Josias was not injured. Police said he was ticketed for traveling too fast for the conditions.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Another testament to the incompetence of the state DOT crews stationed out of Springfield, aka 'Accidents R Us'. I've NEVER seen a stretch of highway so poorly maintained. Time for heads to roll!
ReplyDeletemaybe you should get your facts straight,the accident happened in Windsor,not Springfield,so I'm guessing the dot crew was from Windsor or Ascutney, Time for a apology from you
Delete7:50, it just now struck me how so many Anonymice appear to be Springfielders who love to foul the nest.
DeleteIt's not that they just carp rather than carp and offer a practical solution. Besides sending a message-- often, like 1:53's, false or unfounded-- that damns the town, they quite often reveal themselves to be not particularly nice people to have in one's town.
It might be due to your poor eyesight, but I'm betting that it's your leftist ideology that dictates that you refuse to acknowledge any thoughts contrary to leftist propaganda, which is why you allege an absence of practical solutions being offered on this site. In reality, there have been multitudes of them, but because they usually either don't involve government or involve an expectation of responsible citizenship, you ignore them. Your "nest" metaphor is all that needs to be said for your view of life - society should be tucked into its tidy little nest and cared for by mama and papa bird. Your nest is being fouled by a growing brood of all of those coddled little chickies that never leave the nest, not by those who took to their wings and are now producing the wealth of which you are insatiably envious.
DeleteHow in the world are these accidents the DOT fault? Given the amount of miles of road to clear and the ever changing weather, I fail to see how the DOT can make every road clear for every minute of the day. These accidents are under investigation so, gee, it may be the fault of the driver (going too fast, no seat belt or any other number of issues) or possibly just a pure and simple accident. Time for heads to roll? You must be kidding.
ReplyDeleteThis is Springfield, everything is someone else's fault.
DeleteMaybe the headline should read "Driving to fast for conditions leads to accidents on I-91" I don't think DOT is responsible for someone losing control of "their" vehicle
ReplyDeleteGet well soon Mark!
ReplyDeleteI drive from Springfield to the Upper Valley each morning (around 8:00am mind you). There are times when a snow plow hasn't even plowed the slow lane..... and then you get to I89 in NH the both lane are clear. VT DOT will say it takes time to deploy crews, why doesn't NH have that problem? I remember when VT roads were superior to NH. Those who say the DOT does a good job and you just need to slow down, are either old, do not work or both.
ReplyDeleteYears ago I was talking with Dave Patterson, who was the manager of the DOT garage in Ludlow. He mentioned that the state, in order to keep within budget, had reduced the salting and sanding of state roads by 40%. About the same time, a state senator, Ed Flanagan, skidded off a road and was not found for a couple of days. He suffered traumatic brain injury and has since spent the rest of his life coping as best he can at about two-thirds his former speed. Needless to say, recovery was very, very expensive. What his insurance didn't cover and he couldn't cover we may be sure the hospitals passed on to us.
ReplyDeleteI calculated what my tax share would be to restore Vermont's winter roads to top condition of drivability, providing a surface which would have helped Ed keep to the road and prevented a lifelong disaster.
The sum was $109, the price of one medium-quality cowboy boot. If it were your child, spouse or significant other out there, how willing would you be to pay to keep them from lifelong handicap?
If we don't pay taxes for good roads, we don't have the right to complain about what we get.
Chuck and his good old calculator. It always produces an answer that is easily attainable by just giving up one cup of coffee per day. He must be on a secret campaign to put D.D. and Starbuck's out of business!
ReplyDeleteWell, there are the people who complain about taxes the way they complain about the weather, and then there are the people who complain about taxes because they don't understand what taxes are used for. Which group are you in?
DeleteThe one that sees the government's enormous waste, fraud, and abuse of our money. I don't live (or aspire to live) in a tidy socialist cocoon like you!
DeleteI'm in the group that works 80 hrs/wk to sustain my family, home and small business. A business whose payroll contributes to the local economy and pays far more in taxes then we will ever get in return. Worst of all, my personal taxes go to support those with a diametrically opposed value system to my own.
DeleteSo Chuck, explain to me one more time, exactly what have you done to improve this community? Can start with justifying the eyesore on Mineral Street.