Vehicle loses control, claims lives of three

Author: Tamara Hilmes

Three people were killed on Feb. 13 in a two-car collision on U.S. Route 7 just north of Middlebury. The near head-on collision occurred late Wednesday morning a little before 11 a.m., Middlebury Police Chief Tom Hanley said in a Feb. 14 article in The Rutland Herald entitled "Route 7 crash kills 3."

The fatal accident occurred when a southbound blue Chevrolet Cavalier, driven by Dereck Busier, 31, crossed the center line of the road, lost control and hit the oncoming, northbound green Jeep of James P. Dunn of Salisbury. Busier, as well as his two passengers, Jennifer Traverse, 28, and Justin Traverse, 10, were killed in the collision. All were of Bristol, Vt. Dunn was taken to Porter Hospital and then Fletcher-Allen Health Care, and though he sustained serious injuries, he is expected to survive.

According to Hanley, the Chevy Cavalier was basically crushed side-to-side and the damage was such that the victims had to be extricated from the vehicle in a garage at the Middlebury Police headquarters. As reported by the Herald, a leak in the gas tank prevented it from being done on the scene of the accident.

The collision occurred just north of Middlebury on Route 7 close to Hendry Brothers, a farm and lawn equipment supplier, near the New Haven town line around 10:40 a.m. on Feb. 13.

Police are still unsure as to what might have caused the blue sedan to have lost control and skidded sideways as it did. It is speculated that the slushy road conditions may have resulted in hydroplaning, although police are still attempting to reconstruct the accident, as well as confirm vehicle speeds.

After the accident occurred, the section of Route 7 stretching from Exchange Street in Middlebury to River Road was closed off for a period of two hours while crews continued to clear the scene of the accident. The blue sedan was placed under tarps and loaded onto a flatbed truck and taken to the Middlebury Police Department, and the green Jeep was placed in the impound lot at the police department. Once cleared, the road was reopened to traffic around 12:20 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.

Hanley was unavailable to comment on any updates to the investigation of the collision or Dunn's status when the paper went to print.