ADDISON COUNTY — After Monday morning’s snowfall glazed local roads, a driver and her four young passengers found the car they were in sliding off Route 125 in Cornwall and flipping onto its roof, and the driver later found herself facing charges.

At a few minutes after noon on Dec. 10, Vermont State Police troopers responded to a report of a single-vehicle rollover crash on Route 125 in Cornwall at the bottom of the hill near Hamblin Road. Police believe that Samantha Burnett, 21, of Bridport was driving a 2007 Toyota Camry westbound on a wet highway in the rain when she attempted to pass another vehicle at a high rate of speed. Burnett apparently lost control of her vehicle, which then left the roadway and overturned multiple times. 

Burnett and her passengers were all taken to Porter Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Two of the passengers, ages 27 and 18, were reportedly not wearing seatbelts. Burnett and the two other passengers, ages 13 and 1 year old, were belted at the time of the crash.

While speaking with Burnett, troopers detected indicators of drug impairment. They screened Burnett for drug impairment, and she consented to provide a sample of her blood as evidence. Burnett was ultimately released with a citation to appear in Addison County Superior Court, Criminal Division, to answer charges of driving under the influence of drugs, negligent driving, and recklessly endangering her four passengers.

She was also issued tickets for unsafe passing, unreasonable speed and driving without insurance, which together could care fines of $602 and seven points on insurance.

Troopers were assisted on scene my members of the Cornwall and Middlebury fire departments, and Middlebury Regional EMS. 

In the only other release from the New Haven barracks of the state police, troopers on Dec. 1 cited Logan Lewis, 23, of Bristol for driving on Kelton Drive in New Haven with a criminally suspended license.