POWNAL — A 60-year-old Pownal resident died Tuesday morning in a collision with a school bus on U.S. Route 7, according to Vermont State Police.
Dana Zazinski was pronounced dead at the scene after the 2018 Toyota Rav 4 they were driving crossed the center line and collided with a southbound 2025 Ford E-350 school bus around 7:08 a.m.
The bus driver, Kimberly Galok, 61, of Eagle Bridge, New York, suffered minor injuries and was transported to Southwestern Vermont Medical Center by Pownal Rescue Squad.
No students were on the school bus at the time of the crash, police said.
The collision occurred during light rain on wet road conditions, with the speed limit in that section of Route 7 set at 50 mph.
Investigators determined Zazinski’s vehicle crossed into the southbound lane for unknown reasons before the collision.
The Toyota came to rest on the grassy shoulder adjacent to the northbound lane, while the school bus remained in the southbound lane.
The crash forced authorities to close that section of Route 7 for several hours.
Multiple agencies assisted at the scene, including Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, Bennington County Sheriff’s Department, Pownal Fire Department, Pownal Valley Fire Department and Pownal Rescue Squad.
State police are continuing to investigate the crash and ask anyone with information to contact Corporal Travis Hess at the Shaftsbury barracks.
