A three-vehicle accident that happened just after noon Sunday (yesterday) in West Woodstock resulted in the arrest of 20-year-old Matthew Tripp of Hartford, Vermont for “minor in possession” of alcohol, an under-age version of “driving under the influence” or DUI.
Woodstock Police Chief Robbie Blish has confirmed the details of the accident which happened at the height of the Columbus Day weekend on a busy stretch of Route 4 West by the Woodstock Farmers’ Market which was having a post-flood sale.
Blish says no one was transported by ambulance from the scene.
However, one source reports damage to vehicles and that another person involved in the accident was Kevin Lynch, having been “crashed into” from behind by a vehicle that was also hit. The incident sent Woodstock emergency vehicles honking and siren-ing through the Village as they tried to get through stubbornly backed-up and slow-to-move holiday traffic.
(This was a case in which having a couple emergency vehicles in West Woodstock was particularly useful and also fortunate that those vehicles had recently been returned to their station. The West Woodstock Station #2 was used recently as a volunteer center for the post-Irene flood response.)
Chief Blish did not have the full “narrative” of the incident in front of him when he spoke to Woodstock Early Bird but says that generally “Operator 1” in a report is the person usually suspected of being “at fault”. In this case, “Operator 1” was the person arrested, Matthew Tripp.
A flat-bed truck was dispatched to the scene to remove his vehicle since he was not allowed to drive away from it on his own.
Officer Lisa Wilding was the responding and arresting officer on the case.
A Matthew Tripp from Quechee, Vermont was in the news two years ago for being part of a graffiti spree that took place in Lebanon, New Hampshire. That Matthew Tripp was 18 at the time and charged with criminal mischief. Police have not confirmed if this is the same youth.
Julia Carlisle
Woodstock Early Bird 