On Monday, Aug. 17, at 3:15 p.m., Vermont State Police responded to a report of a serious injury accident on Interstate 91 North in the area of mile marker 77. Preliminary investigation revealed David Stefanik, age 54 of Shalimar, Fla. was driving a tractor trailer truck northbound on I-91. The vehicle became disabled with flat passenger side rear trailer tires and moved over into the breakdown lane for assistance.
Stefanik placed hazard markers behind his vehicle and appeared to be standing at the rear driver’s side of the truck possibly examining the tires, when a fully loaded log truck driven by Mason Morissette, age 23 of Woodstock, Maine, sideswiped Stefanik and his tractor trailer, killing Stefanik.
Morissette had a minimum of a quarter mile straight line of sight distance of Stefanik’s disbled tractor trailer on approach but indicated that he never saw the hazard markers or Stefanik, police reported. A witness to the accident indicated that Morissette had ample room to move into the passing lane prior to the collision and failed to do so, and actually drifted into Stefanik’s disabled tractor trailer.
Mason Morissette was subsequently arrested for Grossly Negligent Operation with Fatality resulting. Morissette was processed at the Hartford Police Department and released on a citation ordering him to appear in Criminal court on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 8 a.m.
