HARTLAND—On Oct. 14 at 10:30 p.m. troopers from the state police Royalton barracks responded to the area at mile marker 66.4 of I-91 northbound, in the town of Hartland, for a vehicle v. pedestrian crash. Fire and rescue were dispatched to the scene.
The male pedestrian, later identified as Arthur Huston, age 60, of Springfield, Vt., was found deceased on the roadway, according to police reports.
Prior to the crash a “BOL” (which stands for “be on the look-out”) was issued for a slow-moving northbound vehicle in approximately the same area. While troopers were en route, 911 calls were received that suggested that a person was down in the roadway.
Upon arrival troopers found several vehicles stopped on the Interstate at mile marker 66.4. The body of a man was observed lying in the passing lane near the mile marker. A disabled vehicle was also located in the same area, parked on the shoulder with no damage to it. This vehicle matched the description of the BOL vehicle given out earlier.
Initial investigation revealed that a 2012 Jeep Liberty, driven by Aaron Lafayette, age 25 of Langdon, N.H., was traveling northbound in the right lane and came upon a disabled vehicle on the right shoulder with its hazard lights on. Lafayette proceeded to move over to the left passing lane to make room for the disabled vehicle, when it then struck a man who was standing in the passing lane. Lafayette veered from the roadway into the median and came to a controlled stop just north of the point of impact.
A second vehicle came along after and also collided with the man in the roadway. The second vehicle, a 2010 Mini Cooper driven by Joshua J. Nordman, age 32 of White River Junction, also stopped.
Witnesses to the scene reported seeing a male standing in the roadway outside of his disabled vehicle, a 2001 Buick Park Avenue, prior to being struck. VSP’s crash recon team responded and further investigation is pending at this time. I-91 northbound was closed during the investigation. The roadway had reopened by 5 a.m.
