U-32 senior killed in snowmobile accident
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By Peter Hirschfeld Vermont Press Bureau - Published: February 25, 2008
MIDDLESEX – A Middlesex teenager died Sunday morning in a snowmobile collision near his home.
John D. Picard, better known as J.D. to his friends, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, according to Vermont State Police. The 17-year-old senior at U-32 High School collided with a friend as their snow machines crested opposite sides of the same hill, police said.
Police said Picard was one of seven snowmobilers out for a Sunday morning ride on a Vermont Association of Snow Travelers trail near his Portal Road home in Middlesex. The crew met at about 10:30 a.m. at a parking area near the Middlesex/Montpelier border. One of the riders, Shawn Lamson, went northbound ahead of the group before doubling back toward the main pack, according to police.
Lamson, 26, of Berlin, collided with Picard as the two crested a hill. Both operators were ejected from their snowmobiles. Lamson was taken to Central Vermont Hospital with injuries to his head and neck. Police say Lamson's injuries are not life threatening.
Picard, a lacrosse and one-time football player at U-32, was known as a hardworking laborer and avid outdoorsman, according to a family friend.
Randy Brown, a physics teacher at U-32 and neighbor of the Picard family, said Picard embodied all the characteristics of an old-school Vermonter.
Last week, Brown said, Picard helped him trap a problem mink on his property.
"He's got certain things you just don't see too often in kids anymore," Brown said Sunday evening. "He's a kid who knows about the land, about hunting, about animals."
Picard's work ethic was among his defining traits, according to U-32 football coach Mike Law. Though a back injury forced the burly Picard to forego his junior and senior seasons on the team, Law said Picard continue to impress off the field.
"He's not afraid to work, that kid," Law said. "You'd see him working for his dad in the summer, laying pipe. He's the kid down in hole using a shovel, working sunrise to sunset sometimes, just to get the work done."
Law said Picard took pride in his work and anticipated a career in the excavating field. Law recalled a conversation in which the teenager apologized for choosing work over football.
"He said to me one day, 'You know coach, I'm not the smartest guy in the world, and I know I'm gonna be working with my hands, so I need to take care of myself to make sure I get healthy," Law said.
Even so, Law said, Picard couldn't help himself from taking part in the sideline celebration after U-32's championship victory.
"He was so excited when we went 11-0 and won the championship, he came down on the sidelines that night, and I let him stay," Law said. "He's always been one of those kids you like to have on your team."
U-32 teacher Dan Gandin taught Picard in five separate classes at the school. He said when the biology curriculum turned to animals, Picard took charge.
"Whenever we did anything with wildlife he was truly amazing," Gandin said. "He knew all about it. I basically sat back, put my feet up and let him talk about it because he knew more about it than I did."
Brown said Picard had an impressive intellect, even if it wasn't necessarily geared toward traditional academic pursuits.
"Too often we judge knowledge on how well you might do in calculus or what college you get into," Brown said. "But if you had to pick anybody in class who you wanted to be with if you were getting stranded in woods, everybody in that class would say J.D. J.D. knew how to survive in the woods."
Gandin said Picard's big heart and gregarious manner made him a popular man-about-campus. On Sunday, U-32 counselors spent the afternoon talking to grieving classmates. The school is on break this week.
"He's a real fun-loving kid, a popular kid, just a good all-around kid," Gandin said. "He had his future all planned out, taking over his dad's business. It's so sad."
Brown said Picard was no stranger to off-road vehicles.
"This kid knew how to drive a bulldozer before most of his classmates knew how to spell bulldozer," Brown said. "If he was on a motorized vehicle, that was probably when he was happiest."
Brown said the teenager planned to work for his father's excavating business fulltime after graduating this spring.
"I see lots of smart kids, but I don't see as many hardworking kids anymore," Brown said. "And he had that ethic of going the extra mile and putting his heart and soul into it. He had great work ethic from the day he could tie his shoes."
Gandin said Picard won't soon be forgotten.
"He's a memorable kid," Gandin said. "He really is."
Vermont State Police did not issue any citations and continue to investigate the incident.
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