UPDATED: Harwood freshman dies in Saturday crash
October 25, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti 1 p.m.: UPDATE from Vermont State Police
At about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Vermont State Police Trooper Kevin Charney issued a news release about this fatal crash.
It says that state police responded on Saturday to Plunkton Road in Warren a few minutes before 4 p.m. The location was on a stretch of dry gravel road at the intersection with Southview Road.
The crash involved a 2006 Subaru Impreza driven by a 16-year-old juvenile from Duxbury, police said. There was one passenger in the vehicle, a 14-year-old also from Duxbury.
Although the crash is still under investigation, troopers so far say they have determined that the vehicle was traveling southbound on Plunkton Road “at a high rate of speed and lost control while negotiating a curve in the roadway.” The car went off the right side of the road, hitting a tree, which caused extensive damage to the passenger side front door and frame, according to the report.
The driver had minor injuries and was transported to Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin for further evaluation. The passenger suffered major injuries and was transported by medivac helicopter to UVM Medical Center in Burlington. “After lifesaving efforts, [the passenger] was pronounced deceased” at the hospital, the report states.
Charney’s report notes that the driver was wearing a seatbelt; the passenger was not wearing a seatbelt.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing. Anyone with information that might assist investigators should contact the state police barracks in Berlin at 802-229-9191. Anonymous tips may be submitted online here.
The original post is below.
A Harwood Union High School freshman has died in a single-vehicle crash in Warren on Saturday, school officials announced this morning.
Gracie Dunbar, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was airlifted to UVM Medical Center, where she died as a result of her injuries, according to a message from Harwood Principal Meg McDonough and Superintendent Mike Leichliter. “Gracie’s mother has asked us to share this news with our community,” they wrote in an email to school staff and families Sunday morning.
A Harwood junior was also in the vehicle and was not seriously injured, according to school officials. The Waterbury Roundabout is not identifying the other juvenile at this time.
As of 11:30 a.m. Sunday, the Vermont State Police had not issued a news release with details about the crash that took place late Saturday afternoon. Lt. Owen Ballinger, a weekend supervisor, said troopers were working on the case and would likely have information to release later today.
This tragedy comes just over a month after Harwood 11th grader Vinny Viola died in a single-vehicle crash on Vermont Route 100 in Warren on Sept. 22. School leaders acknowledged the timing of the two events and the expected impact on the school community.
“For Gracie’s family, this is an unimaginable loss. For her classmates, teachers, and friends, the days ahead will bring grief that each person will experience differently,” they wrote. “Coming so soon after Vinny Viola’s death, this news may also deepen the sorrow many in our community are already carrying.”
School officials are meeting today to coordinate efforts to offer support at Harwood as well as at Brookside Primary School and Crossett Brook Middle School, where siblings of the Harwood students attend. More information will be shared with staff and families as those details are arranged, they said.
As a first step, the principal and superintendent offered this guidance: “Please make time to check in with your children, listen to their questions, and let their school know if they need additional support.”
McDonough and Leichliter asked school community members to keep the affected families in their thoughts. “In the days ahead, we will once again need to come together as a community with compassion and patience to support one another,” they said.