POLICE: MAN WHO CAUSED MORNING CRASH WAS WANTED
BERKSHIRE: According to the Vermont State Police, a crash this morning that sent three men to the hospital with severe injuries was caused by a man wanted.
Philip Benoit, 27, of Richford was driving east, towards Richford when he crossed the center line, striking a Toyota Truck head-on. That truck was driven by Jason Jewer, 37, of Derby.
If what police report is correct, Philip Benoit was seen passing vehicles in his 2003 Ford Escape, at a high rate of speed just before the crash.
Benoit had two active arrest warrants for driving with a criminally suspended license, and failure to appear. He also had recently been cited into court for driving with a suspended license as well as Careless and Negligent Operation, according to Trooper Benjamin Patnode.
A passenger in Jewer’s truck, Wesley Galliot was also transported to the hospital for injuries sustained in the crash, according to Vermont State Police.
Trooper Patnode suspected Benoit was driving under the influence. He applied for an arrest warrant, which was granted for his blood. Those tests, according to Patnode, will be processed at the Vermont Forensic Laboratory in Waterbury.
Benoit has an extensive criminal history including charges of driving with a criminally suspended license, forgery, petit larceny, false pretenses, leaving the scene of an accident, and DUI.
Both vehicles were totaled in the crash.
Richford Fire, Enosburgh Fire, and Berkshire Fire worked for more than an hour to free the men from their vehicles. Richford Ambulance, Enosburgh Ambulance and Amcare Ambulances responded to the scene of medical transport.
The condition of the two drivers was unknown at the time this article was written.
