By Lani Duke
State police are looking for a vehicle and its driver that drifted out of the southbound lane on Route 30 near Kerber Lane, Poultney, before 3 p.m. Dec. 30, hitting a northbound 2004 Chevy Impala before fleeing the scene.
The Impala was forced off the road and hit a tree; the 17-year-old driver was transported to Rutland Regional Medical Center for evaluation, according to the Rutland Herald. The police report observed there were patches of ice on the road but included no other details.
Anyone with information on this accident is asked to call the Vermont State Police.
The Fair Haven Police Department reported that a male suspect demanded money from China City Restaurant, in Shaw’s Plaza on Rt. 22A in Fair Haven, at about 10:45 p.m. Dec. 30.
Brothers Rong Zhang and Vincent Zhang told police, translating for their mother Yun Wu, who does not speak or read English, that a man wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and with his face covered came into China City, held his hand as if it were a gun and threw a note on the counter. She kept asking him to leave until he ran out of the store. He fled in a passenger car that was in the parking lot.
Fair Haven Police subsequently arrested Tyler T. Edwards, 28, on Jan. 2. He pled not guilty to the felonies of attempted larceny from a person and attempted assault and robbery in Rutland criminal court Jan. 3. Together they have a combined maximum sentence of a 20-year prison sentence. Edwards said he didn’t do it but admitted using cocaine. Edwards continues to be held without bail.
Edwards is already on probation, having received a three-to five-year suspended sentence for assault and robbery with a weapon at the Woodstock Avenue Circle K convenience store in 2015.
Vermont State Police were called to Dick’s Sporting Goods, Route 7 S in Rutland Town, Dec. 31, for suspected theft from the store, only to find that the suspects had driven off. Rutland City police stopped the vehicle soon afterwards and arrested Tiffany Shaw, 35, and Brent Shaw, 32, for possession of stolen property and retail theft of more than $100. Both Shaws are scheduled to appear in court Mar. 26 at 8:30 a.m.
State trooper Freire arrested East Wallingford resident John B. Seward, 70, for driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident in Mount Holly, Dec. 31. State police reported that Seward’s vehicle, traveling north on Rt. 155, crossed the centerline and struck a vehicle traveling in the other direction, after whichh Seward abandoned his vehicle. Seward is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 22 at 8:30 a.m.
Troopers responded to several incidents in which vehicles slid off the road, Jan. 1. Among them were minor incidents on Rt. 4A between Rutland Town and West Rutland, and another on North Grove St. in Rutland. There were no reported injuries. In each case, drivers were traveling too fast for road conditions.
The cold, has led the VSP to increase patrols so that stranded drivers have less time to wait, whether their cars break down or they slide off the road. Regardless, state police advise that drivers should be prepared, dressed for the weather, and carrying a breakdown kit of water, nonperishable food, flares, and flashlights in their vehicles. They should be ready to report any vehicles they see that appear to be broken down.