Survivors face drug charges
Following further investigation and the completion of autopsies, the Vermont State Police is able to confirm the identities of the two individuals killed in the Friday night rollover vehicle crash on East Lakeshore Drive in Colchester.
State police say the crash fatality victims are:
- Damanuel McLeod, 19, of Brooklyn, New York.
- Tywon Parker, 28, of the Bronx, New York.
In addition, the surviving individuals who were in the vehicle are identified as:
- Tayami Barnes, 31, of the Bronx, New York.
- Ron A. Thomas, 21, of Brooklyn, New York.
- Juvenile male, 18, of Richmond, Virginia.
Barnes and Thomas are facing criminal charges related to cocaine possession and distribution in the Burlington, Vermont, area. These charges are the result of a Burlington Police Department investigation related to conduct leading to the police pursuit and vehicle crash.
These charges are outside the scope of the crash investigation being conducted by the Vermont State Police. Questions about the criminal case should be directed to Burlington police.
VSP’s investigation focusing on the crash itself remains active and ongoing. At this point, the state police has been unable to establish conclusively who was driving the vehicle during the pursuit from Burlington into Colchester. Burlington police terminated the pursuit on Vermont Route 127, also known as the Beltline, and the Colchester Police Department picked up the pursuit a short time later after the suspect vehicle nearly collided with a CPD cruiser after entering the town.
The Vermont State Police Crash Reconstruction Team has determined that none of the five occupants of the SUV was properly restrained at the time of the crash. Both McLeod and Parker were fully or partially ejected from the vehicle. Speed is believed to have been a primary factor in the crash on East Lakeshore Drive, where the speed limit is 25 mph.