Getting run over by TWO state troopers!

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071212/NEWS04/712120404

Police: Trooper's car killed man

December 12, 2007

By Susan Smallheer Herald Staff

ROYALTON - A Vermont state trooper ran over and killed a West Dover man who
was lying on Route 100 early Sunday morning, the head of the Vermont State
Police said Tuesday.

Col. James Baker said Gerald J. Peterson Jr.'s death was a result of being
hit by Trooper John Waitekus, who was driving the first of two cruisers to
strike Peterson's body. Peterson died of head injuries.

Baker said the second trooper, Frank LaBombard, ran over Peterson's legs,
but he said an autopsy showed those injuries came after Peterson had died.

Baker said he had driven to New York state to meet with Peterson's father
Tuesday morning to apologize for his son's death and offer the condolences
of the Vermont State Police.

"I told him I'm sorry that this tragic accident occurred," said Baker.

But Baker said that police may never know why Peterson was lying in the
travel portion of the southbound lane of Route 100, where he was struck
first by Waitekus and seconds later, LaBombard.

He said that based on the initial investigation and the autopsy, police were
"reasonably assured" that Peterson was lying on the road when he was struck.

He estimated that LaBombard was 100 feet behind Waitekus, but despite being
warned by Waitekus by radio of a body in the road, he, too, was unable to
avoid Peterson's body.

Baker's midafternoon press conference Tuesday at the Vermont State Police
barracks in Royalton was short on many specifics about the confusing if not
mysterious case, saying that the ongoing criminal investigation made full
disclosure impossible.

While Peterson had had some alcohol to drink that evening, his level of
intoxication is not known and toxicology results won't be known for six
weeks at least, Baker said.

"We may never know why he was lying on Route 100," Baker said, noting that
police were investigating other possibilities, including that another car
had earlier struck Peterson, that Peterson had some kind of medical
emergency, or that Peterson had been assaulted or injured in some way prior
to being struck by the cruisers. He said that Peterson did not appear to
have injuries aside from those caused by the cruisers.

Baker refused to say how fast Waitekus and LaBombard were going at the time
of the accident. "Based on what I know, we do not believe the troopers were
driving at an excessive rate of speed," Baker said.

He noted that the cruisers' video cameras were not in operation at the time
of the accident.

Calling it a "terrible tragedy," Baker said that other people, lying in a
road, have been struck and killed before. "The difference this time is it
involves Vermont state troopers."

Baker, flanked by three top-ranking Vermont State Police officers involved
in the investigation, said that the police are now conducting a criminal
investigation as well as an internal investigation to determine whether
Waitekus and LaBombard had broken any laws or any part of the state police
code of conduct.

He said the Dover Police Department was conducting the investigation into
the traffic accident, while the state police were conducting the criminal
investigation.

He said that both Waitekus and LaBombard's cruisers were examined and towed
from the scene on flatbed trailers. He said that both troopers were
devastated by the accident, which occurred shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday,
when they were returning to the Brattleboro barracks after conducting a
traffic detail in the Mount Snow resort area Saturday night and Sunday
morning.

Baker said that both troopers are now on leave and would remain so until
they felt able to return to work.

Saying he couldn't get into specifics, he said that Vermont State Police has
a "robust" peer counseling system, as well as a licensed psychologist on
staff to deal with such traumatic events.

"They are very upset about this tragic accident," he said. Waitekus joined
the Vermont State Police about two years ago after working for the
Brattleboro police for about 10 years. LaBombard worked for a local police
department as well, before joining the state police.

Baker bristled when questioned by reporters whether Waitekus or LaBombard
had been tested after the accident for possible alcohol or drug use, which
is standard for airline pilots and train engineers after fatal accidents.

The colonel said he was "personally offended" by the question and the
suggestion that a trooper would be consuming alcohol while on duty.

Baker also said that townspeople in the area who have told reporters that
Route 100 was lighted in that area were wrong. He said that what nighttime
light there was in the area came from a nearby parking lot. The night was
moonless, he said.

And he said that while the portion of Route 100 where Peterson was struck
was straight, he said there were curves on either end of the short
straightaway.

Police had stressed that Waitekus and LaBombard had come around a curve, and
a contributing factor to why they couldn't swerve to avoid hitting Peterson.

Baker said that there was at least one other car in the area at the time of
the fatal accident. That car has since been located and the driver
questioned.

He said that LaBombard, who was waiting for Waitekus to finish his earlier
traffic stop, believes he saw Peterson walking along Route 100 early that
morning.

The owner of the Dover Bar & Grill, where Peterson was trying out for a job,
said that Peterson had headed south along Route 100 to his apartment, about
two miles away. Peterson died about six-tenths of a mile south of the
restaurant.

"We are working very, very hard to gather all the facts," Baker said.

<END ARTICLE>

Gotta love when the police investigate themselves.  All too often, the
outcome is in their favor complete with vague details of what actually
happened.  Most of the answers given here were what you'd expect to hear
from them and what they usually say.  If some Joe Shmoe ran over this guy,
they'd be going over his driving record with a frickin' microscope looking
for anything to shift the blame towards him and how HE should've seen the
guy lying in the road, how fast HE was going, how HE could've been drinking,
how well-lit the road was for HIM, etc., etc., etc.  I wouldn't be at all
surprised if this is the last thing we hear about it in the news.

John B.