ADDISON COUNTY — An Addison man was reported to be in serious condition at University of Vermont Medical Center on Tuesday — six days after he was injured in a snowmobiling accident near Dead Creek.
On Wednesday, Dec. 27, at around 4 p.m. Vermont State Police raced to the Dead Creek Fish and Wildlife Access off Route 17 in Addison for a report of an unresponsive man on the ice. Troopers found that 40-year-old Timothy Oemcke had crashed his Arctic Cat Crossfire 7 snowmobile on the access road. Police report that he was wearing a DOT-certified helmet at the time.
The Vergennes Area Rescue Squad took Oemcke to the Burlington hospital due to the significant injuries sustained during the crash. Police described the injuries as “significant back injuries.” UVM Medical Center does not give details on a patient’s condition, but they describe “serious” as “vital signs may be unstable and not within normal limits (and) patient is acutely ill.”
This is an ongoing investigation and police said that they suspected alcohol impairment was a contributing factor to this crash.
In other recent activity, Vermont State Police:
•  On Dec. 26 at approximately 10:30 a.m. stopped a silver 2009 Toyota Tacoma on Green Street in Vergennes after observing an equipment violation. Police identified the 59-year-old driver as Steven Burlock of Bristol, and said that they detected the strong odor of marijuana coming from Burlock’s vehicle. Troopers searched the vehicle and report that they found a small amount of marijuana. While speaking with Burlock, troopers detected signs of impairment, so they screened him for driving under the influence, transported him to the New Haven barracks for processing and released him after citing Burlock for driving under the influence of drugs, third offense.
•  Began investigating a report that on Dec. 26 at approximately 5:35 p.m. Patricia Disorda, 41, of Leicester was driving a Honda Ridgeline northbound on Route 53 in Leicester when a southbound pickup truck with a yellow plow on the front drifted into her lane and sideswiped the entire left side of her vehicle.
After being hit, Disorda activated her hazard lights, pulled over and stopped. She told police that in her rear view mirror she saw the truck stop, wait a few seconds then continue to head south on Route 53 without making any contact with her.
Vermont State Police ask anyone who may have witnessed this incident or saw a full-size pickup truck, color unknown, with what is believed to be a full size yellow plow on the front traveling south on Route 53 (Lake Dunmore Road), around the time of this incident is asked to contact Cpl. LeBlanc at the New Haven barracks at (802) 388-4919.
•  On Dec. 26 at 9:30 p.m. responded to a one-car crash on Route 116 North near LaRose Lane in Bristol. As troopers arrived they found Bristol firefighters extracting Jason Marshall, 25, of Huntington from the 2011 GMC truck he had been driving. The Bristol Rescue Squad took Marshall to UVM Medical Center to be treated for leg and neck injuries. The truck was totaled. The cause of this crash is still under investigation, but police reported that neither alcohol nor drugs appeared to be contributing factors to the crash.
•  On Dec. 26 between 9 and 11 p.m. Addison County Sheriff’s Department deputies joined troopers from the New Haven barracks in a DUI checkpoint on Route 22A in Bridport. Police came in contact with 75 vehicles and 187 people and did not report any arrests or citations.
•  On Dec. 26 at approximately 3:50 p.m. responded to a two-car cash at the intersection of Routes 22A and 17 in Addison. Police report that Jennifer Bennett, 41, of Witherbee, N.Y., stopped the 2005 Subaru Forrester she was driving at the stop sign on Route 17 and then proceeded into the intersection, where her car was struck by a 2014 Mercedes SUV driven southbound on 22A by Christopher Bongiorno, 39, of Elyria, Ohio. Both vehicles were totaled as a result of the collision, but no one was injured. Police cited Bennett for unsafely entering an intersection and driving without a license.
•  On Dec. 28 at approximately 6:18 p.m. clocked a vehicle going 87 mph in a 50 mph zone southbound on Route 7 in Salisbury. Police cited Brian Smith, 52, of Lunenburg, Mass., for speeding.
•  On Dec. 31 concluded the investigation into a Nov. 29 crash on Route 74 in Shoreham. Police said they determined that no criminal violation had occurred but they did ticket the 17-year-old driver for driving too fast for conditions-accident resulting and for a passenger restriction violation.
•  On Dec. 31 reported on a single-vehicle rollover crash in the area of Sargent Cross Road and River Road in New Haven on the afternoon of Dec. 19. The trooper reported that his investigation showed that Kyle Bartlett, 18, of Bristol had been driving too fast for conditions, lost control of the 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee he was driving and it left the roadway and rolled. Bartlett was transported to Porter Hospital and later police gave him a ticket.
•  On Jan. 1 at 6:35 a.m. went to a one-car crash with possible injuries on Route 100 in Granville, just north of the Granville Fire Department. Police report that Nicholas B. Paradis, 19, of Stockbridge was driving a 2011 Subaru Impreza northbound when he lost control of his vehicle, went off the right side of the road and collided with a bridge, totaling the vehicle and causing damage to the bridge railing system.
Neither Paradis nor his passenger were wearing seat belts and the White River Valley Ambulance Squad screened them for injuries. Police ticketed Paradis for speeding and for failure to wear a seat belt.
Troopers from the New Haven barracks, along with other participating area law enforcement agencies in Addison County, will be conducting a series of DUI checkpoints and focused saturation patrols throughout Addison County during the month of January.
The intent is to promote highway safety by identifying and removing impaired drivers and reducing impaired driving related crashes. State police said their goal is to ensure the safest roadways possible.
Vermont State Police release a daily log of a selection of their activities. In Addison County, those activities included:
•  Dec. 26, motor vehicle disturbances, Green Street, Vergennes.
•  Dec. 26, traffic crash, Route 17, Starksboro.
•  Dec. 26, leaving the scene of an accident, Lake Dunmore Road, Leicester.
•  Dec. 27, traffic hazard, North Main Street and Stickney Road, Whiting.
•  Dec. 27, directed patrol, Route 7 and 22A, Ferrisburgh.
•  Dec. 27, alarm, Delong Lane, Shoreham.
•  Dec. 27, citizen assist, Route 7, New Haven.
•  Dec. 27, animal problem, Monkton Road, Monkton.
•  Dec. 27, family disturbance, Route 74, Cornwall.
•  Dec. 27, family disturbance, Route 22A, Panton.
•  Dec. 28, animal problem, Robinson Road, Ferrisburgh.
•  Dec. 28, citizen assist, Cross Road, Ferrisburgh.
•  Dec. 28, traffic offense, Route 7 and Plains Road, Salisbury.
•  Dec. 30, directed patrol, Route 7, New Haven.
•  Dec. 30, motor vehicle disturbances, Town Hill Road and Main Street, New Haven.
•  Dec. 31, traffic crash, Cross Road and Route 22A, Bridport.
•  Dec. 31, crash with damage, Creek Road, Salisbury.
•  Dec. 31, traffic crash, Mountain Road, Addison.
•  Dec. 31, citizen assist, Sand Road, Ferrisburgh.
•  Dec. 31, motor vehicle disturbances, Little Chicago Road and Route 7, Ferrisburgh.
•  Dec. 31, false alarm, Ridge Road, Cornwall.
•  Jan. 1, suspicious person or circumstance, Sunset Knoll Road, Panton.
•  Jan. 1, welfare check, Shamrock Drive, Starksboro.
•  Jan. 1, traffic crash, Market Road and Route 22A, Bridport.
•  Jan. 1, motor vehicle disturbances, Burpee Road and Route 116 South, Bristol.
•  Jan. 1, traffic crash, Weybridge Road and Prunier Road, Weybridge.