ADDISON COUNTY — A Weybridge man was killed in an ATV accident on Saturday evening.
On Jan. 24 at 8:27 p.m. state police responded to a reported ATV crash in a field on Weybridge Road in Weybridge. A passing motorist had observed the ATV on its side in the field and called 911.
The passing motorist then ran into the field to render aid to the ATV driver, later identified as James “Jay” D’Avignon III, 36, of Weybridge. D’Avignon was found pinned underneath the overturned ATV, and he appeared unresponsive.
State police and emergency medical services personnel arrived on scene and made attempts to resuscitate D’Avignon. Middlebury Regional EMS transported D’Avignon to Porter Hospital in Middlebury, where he was pronounced deceased at 9:04 p.m.
Trooper Doxsee reported that his initial investigation suggested that D’Avignon was driving the Suzuki ATV in a field next to his residence when it overturned. D’Avignon was alone when the incident occurred. Doxsee said alcohol was suspected to be a contributing factor to the accident.
Investigation is ongoing pending an autopsy.
Separately, state police are investigating burglaries at the elementary schools in Starksboro and Lincoln that occurred over the long Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend in which thousands of dollars of electronics were stolen. Police said someone broke into Lincoln Community School and Robinson Elementary in Starksboro sometime between Jan. 17 and 20.
Senior Trooper Cari Crick said similarities between the two incidents suggest they are related, but it was too early in the investigation to confirm a link between the thefts.
Robinson Elementary Principal Patrick Harnett told the Independent that a number of electronics, such as laptops, handheld radios, tablets and a flat screen television, were stolen from the school. Someone also broke into the medicine cabinet in the nurse’s office and took prescription medication. Hartnett late last week estimated the loss, including damage to the building, at $4,000 to $5,000.
Lincoln Community School Principal Tory Riley declined to provide more details about the burglary, citing the ongoing investigation. A full story on the break-ins appeared in Monday’s edition.
Troopers ask anyone with information on either break-in to call the New Haven barracks at 802-388-4919.
Meanwhile, troopers on Jan. 20 at 6 p.m. went to the scene of a three-vehicle crash on Route 7 at the intersection with Church Hill Road in Charlotte, where three members of a North Ferrisburgh family were injured. While en route, troopers were advised of a second crash, involving two vehicles north of the initially reported crash scene.
Troopers determined that a 2014 Toyota Prius driven by 45-year-old Malcolm Francis of North Ferrisburgh was following a 2013 Honda Accord driven by 55-year-old Robert L. Danyow of Charlotte when the Honda stopped to make a left turn. The Prius apparently struck the rear end of the Honda; while the Prius went off the shoulder the Honda was propelled into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer. The tires of the trailer struck the Honda and sent it spinning back into the southbound lane, where it came to rest. The Prius and the Honda were both totaled.
Francis and two children in his car, and Danyow were all taken to the UVM Medical Center for treatment of bruising and, in Francis’s case, a broken collarbone. The driver of the tractor-trailer was unhurt.
Due to the heavy traffic volume in this area, traffic immediately began backing up in both directions. Police said this delay caused a secondary crash, three-quarters of a mile north of the original crash, where a 2013 Nissan Altima rear-ended a 1999 Saab 93; no one was injured.
North- and southbound traffic in this area was restored to normal flow approximately an hour and a half later.
Both crashes are still under investigation, however police said no criminal violations appear to be evident.
In the past week, state police troopers:
•  On Jan. 21 at 10 minutes past midnight responded, with Bristol police, to a report of an unconscious and unresponsive male at the Maple Ridge Trailer Park off Route 116 in South Bristol. It was suspected the male was suffering from an overdose of a narcotic, and the trooper administered Narcan, a drug that used to revive people who have OD’d. The male regained consciousness after receiving Narcan and was transported by the Bristol Rescue Squad to Porter Medical Center for evaluation.
•  On Jan. 21 at 8:50 p.m. stopped a vehicle driven by 38-year-old Franklin Dunshee of Hinesburg for defective equipment on Route 116 in Bristol. During the stop the trooper said he found that Dunshee was in possession of cocaine. The trooper cited Dunshee for possession of cocaine.
•  On Jan. 22 were called to investigate a burglary at a home on Little Chicago Road in Ferrisburgh that resulted in the theft of electronics and other items. Police believe the burglary occurred between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday. The thief or thieves forced entry by smashing a window in the back of the residence, according to Trooper Doxsee. The homeowner reported that a 55-inch TV was the only item stolen. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call VSP at 388-4919. Information can also be submitted online at www.vtips.info or by texting “CRIMES” (274637) to Keyword: VTIPS.
•  On the evening of Jan. 22 cited a Rochester man for driving under the influence following a one-vehicle crash on Route 125 in Ripton. Police said Karl F. Hubrich, 54, was the driver of the vehicle, which they said crashed shortly before 9:30 p.m. just east of the Route 125 intersection with Lincoln Road. Police said they measured Hubrich’s blood-alcohol content at 0.169 percent, which was more than twice the state’s legal limit of 0.08 percent. Hubrich was not injured; his vehicle sustained extensive front-end and undercarriage damage, according to police.
•  On Jan. 23 at approximately 2:31 a.m. stopped a motor vehicle on Main Street in Vergennes and arrested the driver, 32-year-old Deanna Miller of Vergennes, on an active arrest warrant. Police transported Miller to the New Haven barracks, where she was photographed and fingerprinted, and then lodged her at the Marble Valley Correctional Center.
•  On Jan. 23 at 11 p.m. looked into a citizen dispute at a residence on Henry Way in Ferrisburgh. Investigation led the trooper to arrest Gordon S. Mishkit, 34, of Essex Junction for aggravated assault. Mishkit was lodged at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility. The victims of the incident declined medical attention.
•  On Jan. 24 at 1:41 a.m. responded to a single vehicle off the road on Hardscrabble Road at the intersection of Putty Bed Place in Monkton. The driver, Scott D. Martin, 38, of Hinesburg, was not hurt in the crash. A preliminary breath test showed that Martin’s blood alcohol content was 0.172 percent; the legal limit for driving is 0.08 percent. The trooper cited Martin for driving under the influence, second offense, and lodged him at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility.
•  On Jan. 24 at 2:30 a.m. responded to a residence on North Street in New Haven for a report of a hit-and-run motor vehicle crash. Police said a vehicle had left the roadway and collided with a parked 2007 Toyota sedan before fleeing the scene of the crash. Trooper Busby located the vehicle involved in the crash — a 2010 Ford truck — parked less than a mile away. It had sustained moderate damage to the driver’s side door and fender along with a flat rear tire.
 Busby reported that 43-year-old Brad Bassett of New Haven admitted to state police that he had fled the scene of the crash because he was under the influence of alcohol. The trooper arrested Bassett and cited him for negligent driving and leaving the scene of an accident.
•  On Jan. 25 at 1:07 a.m. saw a car speeding on Route 7 in New Haven and pulled it over. Police said they found the driver, 24-year-old Joseph Denicola of Rutland, was driving under the influence of alcohol. A preliminary breath test at roadside showed Denicola to have a blood alcohol content of 0.108 percent. The trooper cited him for DUI.
According to the Crimereports.com website, VSP reported more than two dozen incidents in Addison County between Jan. 19 and 26. Many of those reports involved directed patrols and welfare checks. Notable among those reports were a vandalism report from Route 22A in Addison on Jan. 19, an animal problem on Town Hill Road in Goshen on the afternoon of Jan. 20, a case of credit card fraud at an ATM on Route 74 East in Shoreham, theft from a vehicle on Sanford Road in Orwell on Jan. 22, a burglary with forced entry on Route 116 in Starksboro on Jan. 23, a report of fraud on Route 17 in Addison on Jan. 26, and a report of a burglary with forced entry on Route 22A on Jan. 26.
Plus troopers dealt with traffic accidents on River Road in Bristol on Jan. 19, on Monkton Road in Bristol on the evening of Jan. 21, and on Route 7 at West Salisbury Road in Salisbury on J