Wrong-way I-89 crash in Bolton kills a 21-year-old Northfield woman; Jericho driver to be charged

Halted commuter traffic traps motorists for hours

December 18, 2025 | By Lisa Scagliotti

A 21-year-old Northfield woman died in a multiple-vehicle crash on Interstate 89 on Wednesday evening that involved a wrong-way driver traveling north in the southbound lanes in Bolton, according to Vermont State Police. 

The events played out during busy commuter traffic that then came to a standstill for more than five hours, trapping many southbound motorists in their vehicles until they were either redirected to the northbound lanes or able to resume their travels. 

The first reports of the wrong-way driver came in to state police at 5:22 p.m., according to the accident account by Trooper Shawn Morrow from the Williston barracks. 

Callers reported that the vehicle was headed northbound in the southbound lanes in the vicinity of mile marker 71, in the town of Bolton. Troopers were en route to the spot when dispatchers received calls from motorists reporting a multi-vehicle crash. 

The investigation found that the wrong-way vehicle was a 2022 Toyota Tundra pickup truck driven by Timothy Wooster, 45, of Jericho. Wooster had been driving northbound in the correct lane before crossing the median into the southbound lanes of the interstate, police said. 

As the pickup continued traveling northbound, it hit a 2018 Kia Sportage head-on. The driver of the Kia was identified as Hailey Westcot, 21, of Northfield, according to the trooper’s account. 

As that crash took place, a 2024 Cascadia Freightliner tractor-trailer was also southbound in the travel lane, and it collided with the Kia, causing it to roll over, police said. The vehicles came to rest on the southbound side of the interstate at about mile marker 72.6, the police report notes.  

Wooster was transported to the University of Vermont Medical Center with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Westcot was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash and was taken to the Vermont Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington, troopers reported. 

The driver of the tractor-trailer, 50-year-old Douglas Bailey of Londonderry, New Hampshire, was evaluated by EMS at the scene but was uninjured, police said. All three of the drivers were wearing seat belts at the time of the crashes, the crash report notes. 

The southbound lanes of I-89 were closed to traffic from approximately 5:45 until 11 p.m. Soon after the crash, alerts were issued for travelers to avoid the area and seek alternate routes; eventually the interstate was closed to southbound traffic at Exit 11 in Richmond until crews were able to clear the crash scene.

Police said that the pickup driver, Wooster, was issued a citation with the charge of Grossly Negligent Operation with Death Resulting. “Further charges will be determined upon continued investigation of the incident,” Trooper Morrow noted in his report. Wooster was given a Jan. 29 date to appear in Chittenden Superior Court to answer to the charge.

Both the pickup and the Kia had extensive damage and were totaled. Police said the tractor-trailer also sustained extensive front-end damage. 

Other responders to the incident included Williston Police Department, DMV Enforcement & Safety, the Williston Fire Department, Bolton Rescue, and Richmond Fire & Rescue, according to the state police report. The weather at the time of the crashes was clear and the road was dry, police said.

The investigation into this incident is ongoing. Given the time of day and traffic on the interstate, there likely are numerous witnesses to the crashes. Anyone with information that could help investigators is asked to contact Trooper Shawn Morrow at the Williston barracks at 802-878-7111. Anonymous tips also can be provided online at vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.