WATERBURY, Vt. (WCAX) – A crash report reveals new details about the wreck that left a Vermont state trooper with a traumatic brain injury. Vermont State Police Cpl. Eric Vitali is now receiving extensive treatment in a rehab facility.
Fire officials who responded to the wreck in Bethel on March 8 say two months later, the physical and emotional toll from the crash lingers.
“The fact that we were on scene, had to deal with the carnage right away became a lot for the department to bear,” Bethel Interim Fire Chief Geary Coogler said.
Coogler said fire crews had to use the jaws of life to remove Vitali from his cruiser on Interstate 89.
The crash report, first obtained by WCAX News, shows Vitali was driving between 79 and 86 mph leading up to the wreck.
“The fact that it was somebody that we had worked with, somebody that is part of the first response community, the rescue-type community was extremely hard,” Coogler said.
Fire crews were responding to a separate crash roughly a quarter mile away and parked their water tanker in the left lane, which Coogler says is protocol.
Vitali crashed his cruiser into the back of the fire truck.
Data from the vehicle shows brakes and steering were used, indicating that it’s unlikely Vitali lost consciousness prior to the crash.
The truck, which was mainly used to carry water and other equipment, now sits in lockup, totaled from the crash. Coogler says it will take anywhere from 2.5 to 4 years to replace.
“At this point, we’re down 1,500 gallons on the equation, so that’s a bit of a stinger. So we’re having to do some additional planning as to how we can respond, how fast we need to bring in the mutual companies,” the chief said.
In the meantime, the department is utilizing its other vehicles, all of which are equipped with a Vermont State Police sticker with Vitali’s badge number. Coogler says it’s a way of keeping him in their thoughts.
“You don’t ever want to forget– that’s not the purpose of what this is about or what the entire healing process is– but it is about learning to deal with it appropriately,” Coogler said.
The crash report concluded that Vitali failed to see and react to the firetruck, despite emergency lights being activated and road flares behind the truck. But it doesn’t say why he failed to see and react to the fire truck. The crash remains under active investigation.