BETHEL, Vt. (WCAX) – We have now learned the identity of the Vermont State Police trooper fighting for his life after a car crash on Interstate 89 this morning.
Vermont State Police have identified the trooper as 41-year-old Corporal Eric Vitali, a 19-year veteran of the state police force.
They say at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning, Cpl. Vitali was on his way to a first-aid training at Waterbury’s VSP Headquarters when he crashed into the back of a Bethel Volunteer Fire Department tanker truck that was responding to another crash just north of the Bethel exit.
The first crash, which happened about an hour before at 7:40 a.m., involved a Freightliner box truck for People’s Linen Service of Keene, New Hampshire, and was driven by 33-year-old Matthew Black of Keene.
Black lost control of the box truck after swerving to avoid hitting another slower-moving tractor-trailer, causing the truck to roll over into the median. He sustained minor injuries.
Bethel fire officials parked the tanker truck on the highway a distance from the other crash to get drivers to slow down and merge.
Emergency crews worked to free the trooper from the wreckage. Cpl. Vitali was then life-flighted to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Fellow troopers spent the day at the hospital for support and waiting to hear his condition.
According to VSP, Cpl. Vitali is in critical condition. He was the only person injured in the incident.
It is still unclear what caused Cpl. Vitali to crash into the tanker. VSP officials say they are still investigating.
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