VSP briefs: Several crashes, voyeurism report, DUI-drug arrest

August 7, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti 

The following are reports from Vermont State Police news releases from various incidents and investigations in and around Waterbury recently.

Police investigate voyeurism report

Vermont State Police say they investigated a voyeurism incident in Waterbury that took place in May and recently cited an 18-year-old to appear in court in September. 

Trooper Mae Murdock, in an Aug. 6 news release, said troopers received a report on July 21 of a suspicious incident involving a cellphone that took place in May on Jenny Davis Road in Waterbury. 

The investigation found that 18-year-old Nolan Beckert of Waterbury contacted an 18-year-old victim on several occasions in May and the activity constituted an offense of voyeurism. Beckert and the victim were known to each other, police said. 

Beckert was issued a citation to appear in the Washington County Court-Criminal Division on Sept. 10.

Single-car crash on I-89 results in DUI-drugs citation

On Thursday, Aug. 6, Vermont State Police responded to Interstate 89 southbound in Richmond for a report of a disabled vehicle and an individual walking along the highway. 

The incident took place just before 3 p.m near Exit 11, police said. 

Troopers located the vehicle and determined that it had struck a guardrail and stopped in the breakdown lane. Police said that the driver, Dakota Griswold, 30 of Waterbury, was located semi-conscious several hundred feet further south of the vehicle. 

Troopers said they observed multiple indicators of impairment and Griswold was taken by ambulance to UVM Medical Center. Griswold was cited to appear in Chittenden Superior Court to answer to a charge of driving under the influence/drugs on Oct. 1, police said. 

No injuries in two-vehicle crash on Guptil  

A two-vehicle crash on a bridge on Guptil Road recently resulted in a citation for a Waterbury man for a third driving under the influence offense. 

The incident took place on July 28 shortly before 9 p.m. near the intersection of Guptil and Apple Hill roads, according to a report by Trooper Katie Finn. 

The weather was rainy and the roadway was wet, the report noted. 

The investigation found that a Ford F-150 pickup driven by Marino Bartolomei, 56, of Waterbury, drove into the guardrail on a bridge. The pickup then crossed the double yellow line and hit a Chevrolet Traverse driven by Jenna Townsend, 39, of Barre, police said. 

Neither driver was hurt; both were wearing seatbelts, the report stated. Both vehicles had moderate damage. 

Police said they detected indicators of impairment with Bartolomei, who was issued a citation to appear in Washington Superior Court on Aug. 13 to answer to the charge of driving under the influence-second offense.

Car hydroplanes, crashes in heavy rain on I-89 

Vermont State Police say heavy rain contributed to a one-car crash on Interstate 89 southbound in Middlesex recently. 

The crash happened on July 28 just before 6 p.m. near mile marker 60, according to Trooper Kevin Charney, who noted in the report that there was heavy rain at the time.

Multiple witnesses told police that they saw an Audi A4 driven by Travis Worthington, 47, of Montpelier, that had hydroplaned on the wet highway and collided into the guardrail. The report said the vehicle had been in the passing lane when the driver lost control, and it hit a guardrail on the right side of the road. 

Worthington, who was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, had minor injuries and Waterbury Ambulance Service transported him to Central Vermont Medical Center, police said. Worthington’s vehicle had major front-end damage, the report said. It was towed from the scene by E&S Towing. Waterbury Fire Department also responded to the crash.  

No one hurt in three-vehicle rear-end crash on Rt. 100

No one was injured in a recent afternoon rear-end crash on Vermont Route 100 involving three vehicles in a chain reaction. The incident happened on July 22 just before 3:30 p.m. just south of the entrances to Mansfield Orthopaedics and Zenbarn Farms, according to a report from Trooper Abigail Sikora.

Clinton Sears, 48, of Huntington, was stopped in the southbound lane of Rt. 100 in a 2014 Toyota RAV4, waiting to make a left-hand turn across oncoming traffic. Sean Mceleney, 21 of Burlington, was also southbound in a 2019 Toyota Yaris and came to a stop behind Sears, police said. 

A third vehicle – a 2021 Dodge Durango, driven by Sara Wilson, 49, of Hinesburg – then approached from behind the Yaris, but failed to stop in time to avoid a crash. It hit Mceleney’s vehicle, and the force of that collision pushed the Yaris into the RAV4, police explained. 

All drivers were wearing seatbelts, and none were injured or needed to be taken to the hospital, police said. 

All vehicles had significant damage, however. The Yaris had front- and rear-end damage; the Durango had front-end damage; the RAV4 had rear-end damage, police said.  State police were assisted by crews from the Waterbury Fire Department and Waterbury Ambulance Service.