ADDISON COUNTY — A Leicester man was killed when his car went off Route 7 in his hometown on Oct. 7.
Vermont State Police found Jeffrey McGrath, 53, dead in his car at the scene of the crash.
At around 5:30 p.m. on that Wednesday state police received a report that a car was off the road near Maple Run Road. Troopers found a 2007 Chevy Malibu had left the southbound lane of Route 7, struck a significant portion of guard rail, turned over and finally came to rest approximately 75 feet down an embankment.
McGrath, who apparently was the only person in the car, was not wearing a seat belt.
Police are trying to figure out how the accident happened.
The weather was described as raining and the road as wet pavement.
Anyone with information is asked to please contact Trooper Josh Gurwicz at the New Haven barracks at 388-4919.
Vermont State Police were assisted on scene by the Brandon Fire Department and Brandon Area Rescue Squad.
See a full obituary for Jeffrey McGrath on page 7A of today’s edition.
Meanwhile, Col. Matthew T. Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, announced the promotion of VSP Lt. Cory Lozier, commander of the Emergency Services Unit, to commander of the New Haven barracks. He took over those duties on Oct. 11. See a full story in the A section of today’s Independent.
Lozier’s predecessor, Capt. Matthew Daley, was promoted to Troop A Commander.
In other recent activity, troopers:
•  On Oct. 9 logged a report of a violation of an abuse prevention order. After investigating, troopers cited Jared Pecor, 27, of Lincoln for violating an abuse prevention order on Oct. 8 and 9.
•  On Oct. 12 at 12:50 p.m. responded to a crash involving a tractor-trailer unit and a UPS delivery truck on Route 22A in Panton. Police report that a UPS delivery truck driven by Kurt Dufresne, 48, of Jericho was pulled to the side of Route 22A around a mile south of the Vergennes city line. At approximately the same time, a tractor-trailer driven by Louis Salinas, 47, of Columbus, Neb., was traveling southbound on Route 22A. Dufresne then began to drive back into traffic and proceeded to cross the roadway in an attempt to deliver a parcel on the opposite side of the roadway, troopers report. Salinas recognized the hazard and attempted to avoid a collision but was unable to safely do so and his tractor-trailer came to rest against a utility pole off the northbound shoulder. The UPS truck came to rest off the southbound shoulder of the roadway.
This crash is still under investigation, anyone that may have witnessed this crash is asked to contact the state police at 388-4919.
Motor vehicle traffic was intermittently held up during the crash investigation.
The Department of Motor Vehicle Enforcement, Vergennes Fire Department and Vergennes Area Rescue Squad assisted state police at the site of the crash.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on May 26, 2023, after additional information came to the Addison Independent.