STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

 

NEWS RELEASE

MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH

 

CASE#: 20B105675

RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Trooper Ryan Miller

STATION: Westminster

CONTACT#: 802-722-4600

 

DATE/TIME: 5:41 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020

STREET: Interstate 91 northbound

TOWN: Dummerston

INTERSTATE MILE MARKER: Mile Marker 16

WEATHER: Clear

ROAD CONDITIONS: Wet

 

ACCUSED: Bernard McDonald

AGE: 65

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Westborough, Massachusetts

 

VIOLATIONS:

• Leaving the scene of an accident

• Excessive speed

• Gross negligent operation of a motor vehicle

• Attempting to elude

 

 

SUMMARY OF CRASH:

The Vermont State Police is identifying the operators and passengers involved in this incident as follows:

 

Vehicle 1:

Operator: Bernard McDonald

Age: 65

Hometown: Westborough, Massachusetts

Vehicle: 2013 Ford F150

Damage: significant front-end damage, totaled

Injuries: dislocated hip, lacerations to face

Hospital: Brattleboro Memorial Hospital

Seat belt: Y

Airbag: Y

Vehicle 2:

Operator: Zhigud Lin

Age: 34

Hometown: Unknown address in China

Injuries: Serious, non-life-threatening

Hospital: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Vehicle: 2019 Mercedes Benz Sprinter Van

Damage: significant front and side damage, totaled

Seat belt: Y

Airbag: Y

Passenger: Ding Changzhang

Age: 36

Hometown: Flushing, New York

Injuries: Serious, non-life threatening

Hospital: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Seat Belt: Y

Passenger: Carlos Nabarro

Age: 43

Hometown: Unknown address in Mexico

Injuries: Serious, non-life threatening

Hospital: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Seat belt: Y

Passenger: Yushen Chen

Age: 53

Hometown: Unknown address in China

Injuries: Serious, non-life-threatening

Hospital: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Seat belt: Y

Vehicle 3:

Operator: Daniel Perry

Age: 31

Hometown: Charlestown, New Hampshire

Injuries: Minor injuries, back/neck pain

Hospital: Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, released

Vehicle: 2015 GMC Sierra and 24-foot flatbed trailer

Damage: significant damage to passenger side bed

Seat belt: Y

Airbag: Y

Uninvolved vehicle that rolled in shoulder to avoid crash:

Operator: Chandre Pero

Age: 18

Hometown: Putney, Vermont

Injuries: none

Vehicle: Subaru sedan

Damage: driver side damage due to rolling

Seat belt: Y

Airbag: N

Uninvolved vehicle that was struck by debris and went into shoulder:

Operator:  Laura Gura

Age: 36

Hometown: Williamstown, Massachusetts

Injuries: none

Vehicle: Volvo XC60

Damage: grill and radiator, minor

Seat belt: Y

Airbag: N

 

Vermont State Police vehicle:

Operator: Trooper Ryan Miller

Age: 34

Barracks assignment: Westminster

Injuries: none

Vehicle: 2018 Ford Explorer

Damage: Driver’s side mirror and scratch to exterior driver’s side

Seat belt: Y

Airbag: N

 

Investigators have developed additional information about this incident: Responding to a 911 call reporting the wrong-way driver on the interstate, Vermont State Police Trooper Ryan Miller stopped his fully marked state police Ford Explorer cruiser, with lights and siren activated, blocking part of the northbound travel lane of I-91 in the area of mile marker 18. The vehicle traveling south in the northbound lane subsequently struck the cruiser, which sustained only minor damage. Trooper Miller was uninjured. He then crossed to the southbound lanes and continued to follow the wrong-way driver on the other side of the highway.

 

The head-on crash with the van occurred in the vicinity of mile marker 16 in the northbound passing lane. This collision and subsequent crashes were captured on cruiser dashboard camera from Trooper Miller’s vehicle. The video is evidence in the case and is not being released at this time.

 

A total of six patients were transported to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for treatment of their injuries, none of which are considered life-threatening.

 

Operator No. 1, identified as Bernard McDonald, 65, of Westborough, Massachusetts, was unable to be arraigned as scheduled Monday, Dec. 14, due to his injuries and continued hospitalization. The arraignment has been rescheduled for 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15. Please call the court clerk to confirm arraignment details prior to the hearing.

 

The Vermont State Police was assisted by the Brattleboro Police Department; the Putney, Westminster and Brattleboro fire departments; Rescue Inc.; Golden Cross Ambulance; DHART; and the Vermont Agency of Transportation.

 

Anyone that witnessed any part of this incident, including the operator driving the wrong way at any point, is asked to contact Trooper Miller at the Vermont State Police barracks in Westminster at 802-722-4600.

 

 

***Update, 12:20 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14, 2020***

Following further investigation, the Vermont State Police cited Bernard McDonald, 65, of Westborough, Massachusetts, on suspicion of the above charges related to this incident. McDonald is due to be arraigned at 12:30 p.m. today — Monday, Dec. 14, 2020 — in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Brattleboro.

 

The investigation into this incident is ongoing, including the role that impairment may have played in this crash.

 

Please note: Information about a court appearance is subject to change at the discretion of the court. Please call the criminal court clerk to confirm arraignment details.

 

Capt. Roger Farmer, commander of Troop B for the Vermont State Police, will be available to speak with the media about this incident at 3 p.m. today at the Westminster Barracks, 1330 Westminster Heights Rd. in Putney.

 

The affidavit of probable cause will be filed with the court and made public following McDonald’s arraignment. The Vermont State Police will issue an updated news release when possible with full information about the other operators and passengers involved in this incident.

 

 

***Initial news release, 10:05 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020***

Multiple people were injured in a series of crashes Sunday night, Dec. 13, 2020, on Interstate 91 in the town of Dummerston involving a wrong-way driver. The Vermont State Police investigation into this incident is active and ongoing at this time, and the highway is closed in both directions. The preliminary investigation shows the following:

 

Police received an emergency call at 5:41 p.m. Sunday from a southbound driver who reported seeing another driver headed south in the northbound lanes. A state trooper responding northbound on the interstate with his lights and siren activated encountered the wrong-way driver in a pickup truck. The trooper swerved to avoid a collision and was sideswiped by the pick-up truck. The cruiser suffered minor damage, and the trooper turned around in an attempt to safely stop the vehicle.

 

A short distance later, the pick-up truck collided head-on with a northbound van, causing the van to strike a third vehicle. Two other vehicles went off the road while taking evasive action to avoid collisions.

 

The wrong-way driver was transported by ambulance to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital with unknown injuries. State police are investigating whether impairment contributed to the incident.

 

The van was occupied by four individuals. Three of them were taken by ambulance to Brattleboro Memorial for treatment of unknown injuries. The fourth suffered serious injuries and was airlifted by the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Response Team helicopter (DHART) to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. That person’s condition was reported to be stable at the hospital.

 

The driver of the second pick-up truck suffered minor injuries and was transported by ambulance to Brattleboro Memorial. The drivers of the two other vehicles were evaluated on scene and released.

 

Vermont State Police investigators from the Crash Reconstruction Team are on scene. I-91 remains closed both north- and southbound between Exit 3 (Brattleboro) and Exit 4 (Putney). Motorists are advised to expect delays and take alternate routes. The Vermont Agency of Transportation is on scene assisting with the road closure.

 

Further details about the crash, including the names of the individuals and information regarding the vehicles involved, will be released after further investigation.

 

Police ask that anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have information that is relevant to the investigation call the Vermont State Police barracks in Westminster at 802-722-4600.

 

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