BRANDON — A mother and daughter were killed in a head-on collision on Route 7 in Brandon just south of Otter Valley Union High School last Friday afternoon.
According to police, Kathryn Long, 63, and her mother Ruth Long, 93, both of Sudbury, were killed when their 2004 Subaru Legacy station wagon crossed the centerline and hit a Proctor Gas truck head on.
Brandon Police Chief Chris Brickell said the accident happened at about 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, and it prompted police to close Route 7 to traffic in both directions for several hours.
Brickell said Kathryn Long was driving the car headed north on Route 7 near Kelly’s Knoll when witnesses say the Subaru drifted across the centerline and collided with a southbound Proctor Gas delivery truck driven by John Gibson, 51, of West Rutland.
Witnesses also told police that Long “did not take any evasive action” to correct the path of the car before it hit the gas truck.
Brickell said there is no way to know why the younger Long lost control of the car.
“We may never know,” he said. “She could have fallen asleep, or it could have been a medical condition. We just don’t know.”
Gibson sustained a minor knee injury as a result of the impact, Brickell said, and was treated at Rutland Regional Medical Center. An emergency shutoff valve on the propane truck engaged properly at the time of the accident, the chief said, and no propane escaped from the vehicle. Brickell said Department of Motor Vehicles truck inspectors were on hand to assess the truck and the emergency shutoff mechanism.
Several local emergency departments responded, including Brandon Police, Vermont State Police, Brandon and Pittsford fire departments, the Brandon Rescue Squad, and the Vermont Office of Emergency Management.
The Vermont Agency of Transportation was also on scene to facilitate the closing of Route 7 and the detour via the Florence Truck Route. Route 7 was closed until roughly 9 p.m.
Editor’s note: Obituaries for both Ruth and Kathryn Long appear on addisonindependent.com here.