Photo by Tom Brown/VTDigger
Three people died Tuesday in two separate crashes early Wednesday morning in Orleans County, according to the Vermont State Police.
James Robitaille, 33, of Montgomery and Rex Starr, 68, of Lowell died in what appears to have been a head on collision in Newport Center, troopers said.
The second fatal accident was in the town of Morgan where Daniel Frascoia, 27, of Newport died in a single-vehicle crash, troopers said.
Police first responded to the reported two-vehicle crash at about 5:56 a.m. on Route 100 in Newport Center, near Tetrault Road.
They found a 2015 Ford Edge engulfed in flames, with Robitaille dead inside, according to a news release. A 2010 Chevrolet Malibu sat upside down nearby; its driver, Starr, was also dead.
Troopers believe Robitaille had been driving south when he passed a vehicle ahead of him and collided with a vehicle in the northbound lane. State police did not say whether that vehicle was Starr’s.
Speed also appeared to have been a factor in the crash, troopers said. Robitaille was not wearing a seatbelt.
As they investigated the incident, troopers got word of the second, single-vehicle crash. State police responded and found Frascoia dead in a 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage off the westbound lane of Route 111 in Morgan, near Barter Road.
Frascoia had not been wearing a seatbelt, troopers said, and speed appeared to have been a factor. Investigators believe the crash happened at about 5 a.m.
Both incidents were still under investigation Wednesday evening.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Two crashes within an hour in Orleans County leave three dead.
