ADDISON COUNTY — Early this week, Vermont State Police were looking for the driver who crashed a car almost into Otter Creek in Weybridge early Sunday morning and abandoned the vehicle there.
At a few minutes before 3 a.m. on Feb. 26, troopers from the New Haven Barracks responded to a report of a one-car crash on Pearson Road, near the Otter Creek in Weybridge.
Troopers found a silver 2015 Subaru Legacy off the road and partially down the embankment, hung up on a large rock, at the waterway’s edge. The driver was nowhere to be seen.
State police said their preliminary investigation indicated the Subaru was traveling southbound on Pearson Road and failed to negotiate the sharp curve. The vehicle left the road, traveled through the dirt pull-off and partially over a large rock, upon which it became hung up.
While attempting to locate the driver, police determined that the vehicle had been taken from a residence on Pearson Road without the owner’s consent.
Firefighters and EMS personnel from the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department, the New Haven Volunteer Fire Department and the Vergennes Fire Department along with Middlebury Regional EMS responded to assist.
This crash remains under investigation, anyone with information is urged to contact the Vermont State Police at 802-388-4919.
Separately, Vermont State Police announced that they and other local law enforcement agencies will set up sobriety checkpoints in Addison County over the next three weeks. This will be done in an effort stop people who are driving drunk or who are under the influence any drug that has impaired their ability to drive.
In other recent activity, state police:
•  On Feb. 21 at around 5:45 p.m. dispatched a request for troopers to be on the lookout for a red, older model truck that was just seen doing doughnuts at the intersection of Buttolph and Shacksboro roads in Shoreham. At about 6:10 p.m. state police saw an older red truck covered in dirt turn right off Route 74 onto Route 30, and the trooper pulled it over.
The vehicle, a 1995 maroon Dodge truck, and the driver, Scott Quesnel, 43, of Cornwall, were found to not be the subjects of the be-on-the-lookout report. Police cited Quesnel for driving with a criminally suspended license.
•  On Feb. 22 at 2:35 a.m. received a report of an overdue motorist from concerned family members. The motorist, Sandra Morisseau, 41, of Huntington was said to be on her way home from work and was three hours past due. Troopers located Morisseau in her vehicle off the roadway on Route 17 near the Buel’s Gore/Starksboro town line. Based on roadside observations, police took Morisseau into custody for suspicion of driving under the influence. Police reported that a preliminary breath test showed a blood alcohol content of 0.182 percent; the legal limit for driving is 0.08.
•  On Feb. 24 at about 10 minutes before 1 a.m. stopped a motor vehicle stop on South Pleasant Street in Middlebury. Police said Matthew Billings, 33, of Brandon was driving with a criminally suspended license. While speaking with Billings, troopers smelled an odor of intoxicants emanating from inside the vehicle. Following standard field sobriety tests, police tested Billings’ breath and it showed a blood alcohol content of 0.151 percent.
Troopers arrested Billings and cited him for driving under the influence and driving with a criminally suspended license.
•  On Feb. 22 at approximately 6:35 p.m. received a call about a suspicious man in Panton. Troopers found the man and identified him as Anthony Booska, 36, of Vergennes. Police determined that Booska was under the influence of prescription medication as well as in possession of a loaded weapon. Police report that Booska was not allowed to possess a firearm due to a prior violent crime arrest in Vermont. He was cited for unlawful possession of the firearm and issued a ticket for possession of marijuana.
•  On Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. searched a Ferrisburgh home after obtaining a search warrant. Police placed under arrest two Ferrisburgh residents for violation of conditions of release: Melissa Sird, 35, and Patrick Cota, 24.
Through investigation police said they determined Sird and Cota were also in possession of stolen property and controlled substances. Furthermore, investigation also showed that Sird was in prohibited possession of a firearm, police said. Sird and Cota were transported to the New Haven Barracks for processing. Sird and Cota were released on conditions after being cited for violation of conditions of release, possession of stolen property, and possession of controlled substances. Sird was also cited for prohibited possession of a firearm.
•  On Feb. 24 at approximately 10:50 p.m. stopped a motor vehicle on Route 7 in New Haven for a traffic infraction. Police suspected intoxicated driving and administered a preliminary breath test to the driver, identified as 24-year-old Torsten Rau of Burlington, and it showed a blood alcohol content of 0 percent. Police took Rau into custody, drove him to the New Haven state police barracks, processed him for impaired driving and cited him for driving under the influence of drugs.