BENNINGTON, VT — Vermont State Police arrested a Pownal man on Feb. 5 in connection with a January crash that left a passenger with major injuries.
Joseph M. Walsh, 56, was taken into custody at approximately 3:20 p.m. at the Best Western Motel after police received information he was staying there.
Walsh faces charges of leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injury resulting, reckless endangerment, grossly negligent operation and driving with a criminally suspended license.
He was remanded to the Marble Valley Correctional Facility on a hold without bail and was scheduled to be arraigned in Vermont Superior Court Bennington Criminal Division on Feb. 6 at 12:30 p.m.
The charges stem from a Jan. 7 crash on Burrington Road in Pownal.
At approximately 5:54 a.m., Vermont State Police were notified of a single-vehicle crash in the area of 824 Burrington Road.
Dispatchers reported a passenger was trapped and the operator was missing.
Police said a 1994 Toyota Camry was traveling north on Burrington Road toward U.S. Route 7 when it veered off the roadway and struck a tree head-on.
The passenger, Billie Jean Adams, 31, of Pownal, was extricated from the vehicle and transported to Southwestern Vermont Medical Center for emergent care, then transferred to Albany Medical Center.
Roads were snow covered and it was snowing at the time of the crash.
Vermont State Police ask anyone with information, including businesses or people in the area who might have video of the roadway, to contact the Shaftsbury Barracks at 802-442-5421.
Anonymous tips can be provided online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
