By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer, marking the beginning of barbecue-and-beach season. But this year’s holiday was marred by tragedy in Brandon. Two separate motor-vehicle accidents claimed two lives.
Around 8 p.m. on Friday, May 26, a logging truck and a pickup collided on Route 7, near Lovers Lane. Both vehicles left the pavement and ended up down an embankment on the west side of the roadway, with the logging truck on top of the pickup. The collision caused overhead electrical wires to snap and fall onto the vehicles.
The driver of the logging truck was able to escape his vehicle, but the driver of the pickup was trapped. By the time power was cut to the fallen lines and first responders were able to get to the driver, she had already died. Police have not released the names of either driver. Brandon PD did confirm, however, that the deceased was not a resident of the Brandon area.
Just two days later, on Sunday, May 28, around 8:30 p.m., a motorcycle crashed on Union Street, just north of Twin Oaks Road. The driver had lost control of the motorcycle and went off the road. He did not survive. Brandon PD has not released the name of the deceased.
Police have not released any details as to the precise cause of either event. Both are still under investigation.
Thank you to the Brandon Police Department, the Brandon Fire Department, the Brandon Area Rescue Squad, the Vermont State Police, and Green Mountain Power for their work trying to save these lives.
Additional information about these accidents will be shared as it becomes available.
