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Suspect In Wrong-Way Crash, That Killed Five, Arrested

By Jessica Dafoe
Published on: 05:48 PST, Oct 12, 2016

The suspect in the tragic wrong-way crash that resulted in the deaths of five high school students in Vermont on Sunday, has been arrested.

Steven Bourgoin, is suspected of driving the wrong way on an interstate, thereby causing several crashes that killed the five teens and injured others, and has been arrested, Vermont Police say. The suspect is now in the custody of the Vermont Department of Corrections. That same evening police share that they had served an arrest warrant on Bourgoin for his apparent unauthorized use of a police cruiser.

Although under arrest and in custody of the officials, Bourgoin has yet to be charged as he remains in serious condition in hospital. He is, however, their prime suspect in the teens’ tragic deaths.

Global News shares the course of events that led to arresting Bourgoin.

“Emergency dispatchers started getting calls about a vehicle traveling north in a southbound lane of the interstate Saturday, just before midnight. State and local police officers tried to locate the vehicle, but soon began getting reports of the crash. A vehicle was in flames when a Williston officer arrived at the scene. He grabbed a fire extinguisher before pulling a female victim away from the burning vehicle, authorities said.”

While officers attempted to extinguish the fire from the initial crash, the suspect took the police officer’s cruise and began to speed away. A Richmond police officer tried to stop the man, but the now-known suspect, Bourgoin tried to turn the cruise around and began heading north in a southbound lane back toward to crash scene.

The cruiser struck seven vehicle. Bourgoin, 36-year-old, was thrown from the cruiser, after the final crash, and the car then burst into flames. Several people injured in the various impacts were taken to hospital, but none of the cases were life-threatening. Bourgoin was listed as in critical condition, yet has most recently been stated to be in serious condition.

As Global shares, Paul Swann of Waterbury, was on his way home when he came upon the scene of the initial crash. He shared with media members that there was debris everywhere. He also stated he heard yelling and screaming and then witnessed the cruiser return after it had initially sped off.

“The only thing I could do was try and yell and just gasp as this thing came flying in,” Swann said. “I couldn’t even believe what I was seeing when the cruiser came back in in that high rate of speed and just no brakes, no nothing.”

Just two days after the five teens were killed in the fiery crash by the wrong-way driver, students at Harwood Union High School in Duxbury, Vermont, set up a memorial for their classmates who lost their lives. On Tuesday, fellow classmates wrote heartfelt and touching messages to the victims on post-it notes and placed them on tables, next to flowers, on athletic jerseys and a soccer ball that had been signed. Neighboring schools sent flowers and posters with notes from students. A room was also allocated at the school for students and staff to have a quiet place to go and grieve as well as to console one another. They were also able to meet with counselors. Staff say the room was filled throughout the day.

The flag outside the Vermont high school flew at half-staff and hallways were quiet and solemn as the Associated Press shares. The four Harwood juniors along with an additional victim who attended another school, were also remembered in a candlelit vigil that was held in their honor on Monday night. It was attended by more than 1,000 people.

[Feature Image by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]

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