GUILTY VT - Joseph, 80, & Wanda Plante, 86, killed by speeding driver, Swanton, 26 Nov 2007

St. Albans teen to face charges in fatal crash

A St. Albans Town teenager will face criminal charges arising from a November car crash that killed two people, the Vermont State Police announced Monday.

James Charron, 19, has been cited to appear March 3 in Vermont District Court in St. Albans for an arraignment on a charge of grossly negligent operation with death resulting, police said. The charge relates to a Nov. 26 crash on Bushey Road in Swanton that killed Joseph Plante, 80, and his wife, Wanda, 86, of Richford.


http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080219/NEWS02/802190330/1007&theme=

I don't know what I think of this. I had someone I worked with years ago whose son caused an auto accident that wiped out a mother and four children as well as killing his two cousins that were in the car with him. He was seriuosly injured and in traction. The night of the accident, the surviving husband/father came to the hospital to offer his forgiveness. He sat by this boys bedside day after day, He said it was the only wasy the he (the husband/father) could heal. The boy taht caused the accident was only 16. He was never prosecuted at the request of the vitims families. Different situation but, brought back memories.

St. Albans, Vermont - March 3, 2008
"They liked to go to auctions and they liked to go to garage sales and lawn sales for cookbooks," recalls Kim Plante.
Plante says her bargain-hunting dad Joe Plante and her step-mom Wanda were driving to St. Albans three months ago for a sale on a razor when they were killed in a head-on crash.

James Charron

Wanda & Joe Plante

link for rest of the Article
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=7955639&nav=4QcS

link for video
http://www.wcax.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=2253186&h1=Teen%20Charged%20in%20Deadly%20Crash&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=98067&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&playerVersion=1&hostPageUrl=http%3A//www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp%3FS%3D7955639%26nav%3D4QcS&rnd=12392292

Dear Sluething4fun,
This is the 3rd accident in the same spot same road. All 3 accidents happened all in the same month. The first accident involved a Disc Jockey, who was very well known, he actually hit a tree on that road, The second accident was this James Charron, and the 3rd, was some kids speeding and crashed. I'm just wondering why three accident in the same spot all in one month.

Here is the actual Story on the accident.

Two Killed in Head-on Crash


Swanton, Vermont - November 26, 2007
Two people were killed in a head-on crash in Swanton Monday morning. Police say James Charron, 19, was headed east on Bushey Road when he crossed the center line and hit an oncoming pickup truck.

Here is the link for the rest of the article
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=7410527

vermontn03 said:

Dear Sluething4fun,
This is the 3rd accident in the same spot same road. All 3 accidents happened all in the same month. The first accident involved a Disc Jockey, who was very well known, he actually hit a tree on that road, The second accident was this James Charron, and the 3rd, was some kids speeding and crashed. I'm just wondering why three accident in the same spot all in one month.

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Could be a terrain feature. Not saying a bad road excuses a speeding driver but bad roads make bad driving worse. I'm not sure why the articles seem to be hinting that being a teen makes this accident worse than if it had happened to an older driver with bad habits?

When I was a kid I was afraid to ride with my maternal grandfather because he drove way too fast, I mean with him at the wheel we literally flew over country roads instead of riding on them. At the time he was in his late 60's/early 70's (and so was the 20th century since he had been born in 1898). During his life he was involved in numerous auto accidents but fortunately no human lives were lost although at least one horse and half a flock of sheep met an early demise by his hand err, wheels. When he was 80 years old in 1978 he lost control of his heavy car (a huge Lincloln Town Car) which then plowed through a furniture store completely destroying it and then plunged into a creek. Miraculously no one was hurt, not even Grandpa.

But this time he was at last cited with a slew of traffic offenses and a criminal charge of reckless driving which was eventually dropped due to him being "confused" at the time which was a indirect way of saying that he had already been displaying the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease. His drivers license was permanently revoked, at the huge relief of my grandmother. But unfortunately not being able to drive plunged him into such a deep depression that he had to be hospitalized. He never recovered and died less than a year later.

All this to say that what happened to this kid could have happened to Grandpa, the only difference between them is luck. I do feel extremely sad for the Plante family but I hope this will teach Charron the lesson that Grandpa never understood: the road does not belong to one motorist and traffic rules exist for other purposes than annoying drivers. Better learn it at 16 than after a lifetime of motoring carelessness. Charron is lucky to be alive let's hope he puts his luck to good use.

From March 2008:

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?s=7955639

Police say the teenage driver who hit them was test driving a used car with his mother in the passenger seat. Witnesses say he was speeding, nearly hit one car, lost control, crossed the center line and slammed into the Plantes' truck at 98 mph...

Charron has already run up a lengthy history of driving violations. It includes 13 suspensions and 6 tickets for speeding and police have confirmed he was driving and in a serious crash two months before the crash that killed the Plantes.

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From September 2009:

http://www.wcax.com/story/11042115/weekends-in-jail-for-double-fatal-crash

A Franklin County man charged with killing an elderly couple behind the wheel nearly two years ago will go to prison, but only on a part-time basis. James Charron, 20, was charged with grossly negligent operation with death resulting...

Judge Michael Kupersmith imposed some jail time -- but only part time. "What this means in effect is that Mr. Charron will be serving weekends for the next three years," the judge said from the bench. "And that'll be served from Friday at six p.m. to Sunday at six p.m. -- and the rest of the sentence will be suspended." Charron was also ordered to perform 1,000 hours of community service.

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