News

One dead after car, train collide in Vernon

Accident remains under investigation

VERNON — One person was killed and another was injured on Oct. 6 after a northbound Amtrak passenger train collided with his car at a rail crossing in Vernon.

According to Vermont State Police, a dispatcher received a 911 call just after 5 p.m., reporting an automobile accident near the intersection of Route 142 and Bemis Road in Vernon.

Upon arrival at the scene, state troopers learned the crash involved the northbound Amtrak Vermonter had struck the vehicle.

Both occupants of the 2002 Toyota RAV4 were transported to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, where the driver of the car, Craig Hudson, 53, of Brattleboro, was pronounced dead.

A passenger, Shenandoah Gilbert, 47, of Vernon, was injured, and state police said she was transferred to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H.

State police said that no one was injured on the train, and it continued on its route to St. Albans after a delay.

The Vermont State Police Crash Reconstruction Team investigated at the scene with remote assistance from Amtrak Police. Team members were assisted by the Vermont Agency of Transportation, New England Central Railroad, the Amtrak road foreman, Vernon Fire Department, and Rescue Inc. Route 142 in the area of the accident was closed during the investigation.

The train tracks cross Bemis Road, a private drive, with no crossing guard or lights.

State police request that anyone who can offer information related to the crash contact Trooper Timothy Alibozek at Westminster Barracks at 802-722-4600.

This News item was submitted to The Commons.

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