Woman hurt in County Road crash
Toolbox
Published: January 10, 2007
EAST MONTPELIER – Police said a woman in her late 50s was injured in a dramatic crash off the County Road that sent her car into a concrete post and then off into the woods and into a tree.
Elizabeth Dorries had to be extricated from her Saab some time after 1:45 a.m. as her right foot was pinned under the dashboard, Vermont State Police Trooper Daniel Schneider said.
Although she sustained an incapacitating injury to her ankle, as of Tuesday night, Dorries was in stable condition, according to officials at Central Vermont Medical Center, where Dorries was taken for treatment.
Schneider said the road was dry and there were no skid marks on the road to indicate Dorries had braked to avoid the collision, which occurred on the southbound side of the road just after a right-hand bend in the road.
Schneider said he did not know how fast Dorries was driving on the road, which was posted for 40 mph.
He said her standard shift car was in fifth gear.
Schneider said the vehicle traveled about 150 to 180 ft off road before the collision. The car, which was destroyed in the accident, was nestled in a clump of trees in a hollow well below the road, and numerous rescue vehicles and state police troopers were lined up on the road as they worked to remove her form the vehicle.
Schneider said Dorries said she was on medication, but it was unclear what kind, so he obtained a sample of Dorries' blood to determine what medication she was on.
"I believe she was under the influence of prescription drugs," Schneider said.
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