ADDISON COUNTY — Vermont State Police responded to several motor vehicle crashes in the past week in which animals in the roadway were blamed.
The most notable of these incidents took place on Tuesday morning when troopers were called at around 9:45 a.m. to Lemon Fair Road in Cornwall. Police reported that 31-year-old Lucien Paquette of Burlington was driving a 2013 Toyota Tacoma on Lemon Fair Road when an animal ran out in front of him causing him to swerve; the pickup ultimately collided with a tree. Paquette, who was wearing a seatbelt, sustained a fractured femur and possibly other injuries; he was taken initially to Porter Hospital and then to UVM Medical Center for further evaluation and treatment.
The Toyota was judged to be a total loss.
State police do not believe that alcohol or drugs played a factor in the collision, and no court action is expected.
That crash followed a crash on Interstate 89 involving an Addison County driver on the previous Friday.
State police report that Paige Ackerson-Kiely, 40, of Addison was driving a 2009 Suzuki SX4 northbound at 65 mph when a bear entered the roadway in front of her vehicle at around 9:45 a.m. on April 29.
Ackerson-Kiely told police that all she saw was the snout of the animal as it began crossing and that she was unable to avoid a collision. The driver was not injured, and the vehicle sustained moderate front-end damage as a result of the collision with the bear and had to be towed from the scene.
The next day, Saturday, April 30, a Ripton man was involved in a crash due to an animal in the road.
Police report that Raymond Paczkowski, 47, was driving a 2010 GMC van southbound on Route 100 in Granville at around 9:30 p.m. when a moose entered the roadway in front of his vehicle and crossed into his path. Paczkowski told police he did not have enough time to avoid hitting the moose and a collision occurred.
The van sustained moderate front-end damage, but, thankfully, Paczkowski was not injured. The moose was killed.
Police do not consider speed to be a factor in the cause of the crash. 
Troopers warned that drivers should be aware that this is the time of year that wildlife is more frequent along roadways and should be cautious when driving in low light areas that are remote or have an abundance of wildlife. Stay alert!
OTHER CRASHES
But animals weren’t the only causes of crashes in the past week. On April 29 at approximately 1:37 p.m., VSP and Richmond police responded to a one-car crash at Exit 11 on Interstate-89 northbound in Richmond. Police report that Jenny Yang, 21, of Starksboro was driving a 2008 Toyota Corolla northbound on I-89, passed a vehicle and suddenly lost control of her car and began to swerve back and forth on the roadway. She hit the guardrails on both sides of the road, before coming to rest in the left-hand lane by the Exit 11 northbound on-ramp.
Police said it appeared that the crash was caused by the vehicle’s left-front tire blowing out.
The northbound lane of the interstate was temporarily shut down while debris was removed from the roadway and the vehicle was loaded onto a wrecker.
Yang was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. She was transported to UVM Medical Center by the Richmond Rescue Squad as a precaution, and was evaluated for minor injuries. The Toyota sustained moderate to heavy damage.
Then, just this past Tuesday at approximately 6:24 a.m., state police were advised of a one-car crash on West River Road in Lincoln.
Once on scene, the trooper learned from witnesses that prior to the collision, Patricia Morgan, 64, of Lincoln had been driving a 2016 Subaru Forester eastbound on West River Road at approximately 35 mph. Witnesses stated that Morgan appeared to drift off the road, subsequently coming to rest in a nearby ditch. During a brief interview with Morgan at Porter Hospital, where she was taken for treatment of minor injuries, Morgan told police that she did not remember anything about the crash.
Morgan’s vehicle sustained moderate damage.
State police do not believe alcohol or drugs played a factor in the crash.
In other recent activity, VSP:
•  On April 26 went to a Fisher Road home in Orwell and learned that two Husqvarna chainsaws had been taken from a garage during daytime hours. Anyone with information on this theft is asked to contact the Vermont State Police at 802-388-4919. Information can also be submitted anonymously online at www.vtips.info or by texting “CRIMES” (274637) to Keyword: VTIPS.
•  Also on April 26 received a report of a burglary on Leicester Whiting Road in Leicester. Police learned a safe had been stolen from the residence sometime between 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact state police as described above.
•  On April 27 at 1:48 p.m. stopped a motor vehicle after observing the operator using his cell phone. During the stop, the trooper said he detected an odor of burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle and subsequently screened the driver — identified as 44-year-old Charles Bradford Jr. of Addison — for driving under the influence. State police had a Drug Recognition Expert at the Vergennes Police Department evaluate Bradford and ended up citing Bradford for driving under the influence of drugs.
•  On April 28 at approximately 8:30 a.m. received a call about a suspicious incident that occurred on a rural road in Bristol. School officials said a 13-year-old female student had reported that a man had approached her at her bus stop and asked her if she wanted a ride to school. A trooper later interviewed the student, who advised she had been standing at her bus stop when she saw a sedan driven by an older white male with white hair, and the man asked her if she wanted a ride to school; she declined. When the school bus came around the corner the man rolled up his window and continued down the road. State police asked for the public’s help in identifying the man. Police reported later that day they had found the car and driver and determined that no criminal act had occurred.
•  On April 30 recovered a remote-controlled drone on private property off Halpin Road in New Haven. Anyone with information regarding this drone is asked to contact state police.