STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

 

NEWS RELEASE

MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH

 

CASE#:  21A2007420                                  

RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Trooper Andrew Underwood

STATION: VSP Saint Albans                              

CONTACT#: 802-524-5993

 

DATE/TIME: 12/25/2021 @ 1643

STREET: Cook Rd

TOWN: Sheldon

LANDMARK AND/OR CROSS STREETS: North of Heald Rd

INTERSTATE MILE MARKER: N/A

WEATHER: Sleet – Freezing Rain

ROAD CONDITIONS: Icy

 

VEHICLE #1

OPERATOR: Meagan Staples

AGE: 22    

SEAT BELT? Unknown

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Burlington, VT

VEHICLE YEAR: 2003

VEHICLE MAKE: Subaru   

VEHICLE MODEL: Legacy

DAMAGE TO VEHICLE #1: Totaled (rolled upside down into water)

 

PASSENGER#1: Front seat – Evan Whalon (age 20 , Highgate, VT) – no injuries

PASSENGER#2: 19-month-old male, Burlington, VT (due to child’s age, we are unable to release the name at this time)

 

INJURIES: Child passenger (19-months old) – transported for life threatening injuries

HOSPITAL: UVM Medical Center

 

SUMMARY OF CRASH:

                On December 25, 2021 at approximately 1643 hours, State Police were notified of a one-vehicle rollover on Cook Rd in Sheldon. Further information was given that the vehicle ended up in a brook, and a 19-month-old was extracted from the vehicle and CPR was in progress.

 

The operator, Meagan Staples (age 22) and her front seat passenger Evan Whalon (age 20), were heading north on Cook Rd when their vehicle came down a moderate hill around a sharp curve. The roadway was extremely icy at the time, and the vehicle left the roadway just prior to the culvert, went down the embankment, and landed upside down in the water.

 

Both Meagan Staples and Whalon were able to get out of the vehicle, but the child in the backseat was still in the car seat and submerged in the water. A neighbor was able to run down and cut the child out of the seat before CPR was attempted on scene.

 

Staples and Whalon were later transported to Northwestern Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, while the child ended up being transported to UVM Medical Center for life threatening injuries. State Police are awaiting updates on the child’s condition.

 

This crash remains under investigation and more information is to follow.