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By Guy Page
Last May 8, authorities say drugged driver Jason Ball of Alstead, NH was driving under the influence of heroin when the Jeep he was driving struck and fatally injured a 77-year-old resident of a local senior home who was walking on Rte with the help of a walker.
Diane Clementine was knocked face down into the grass, her walker destroyed by the crash. She died June 2 in a Worcester, MA hospital.
The driver and the Jeep’s occupants were known to police as fentanyl users. Ball, 23, was charged the day of the accident with driving while under the influence of drugs, serious injury resulting, and gross negligent operation, serious injury resulting. He was jailed without bail. The case is still in Vermont courts. A Change of Plea hearing is set for February 20.
The incident is an example of what police say is a growing problem: driving under the influence of illegal drugs.
Vermont police say that the likelihood of DUI crashes is twice as likely when the driver is under the influence of drugs, compared to alcohol.
A WCAX report quotes Vermont State Police Lieutenant Paul Ravelin of the Vermont’s Traffic Safety Program: “Drugged-only fatal crashes outpace alcohol only crashes often by double, and that’s been consistent the last five years.”
State police are reporting a sharp increase in impaired driving arrests, with 953 DUI arrests recorded so far this year compared to 850 in 2024, according to Lt. Ravelin. The arrests include cases involving alcohol, drugs, or a combination of both.
Ravelin added that the rise is partly due to more troopers on the road and an increase in officers trained as drug recognition experts, improving detection of drug-impaired drivers.
Local police are seeing the same trend. In Berlin, Police Chief James Pontbriand said officers are responding to a growing number of crashes involving suspected drug use.
Ravelin also noted that third-offense felony DUI charges hit a four-year high of 365 in 2024.
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Categories: Public Safety
This is exactly what our retards in Montpelier enacted into law. Safe injection sites, dispensaries everywhere, no repercussions for crimes. This is all planned, it has to be, people can’t possibly be that stupid. I pray no one in our legislature has to get that call, one of their own was killed in a drug or alcohol related crash. At this point though, that may be the wakeup these morons need. And for God sake, stop putting this trash into office. How many mistakes have to be made before people open their eyes?
Did we not invade another country to stop the flow of drugs????????????????????
Leftys will pi$$ and moan about the unconstitutionality of Trump’s actions in the Caribbean and about the 100,000+ American “victims” who die every year from street opioid overdoses but when it comes to law enforcement on the local level, they come out with tripe like “you can’t arrest your way out of a drug problem”. I would prefer to permanently lock up the trash that comes up here from Holyoke, Hartford and Philadelphia than put members of the American military at risk.
Just remember when Maduro was indicted, in 2021 by Biden Administration, and he has become more pompous since
WHAT????
But, but, but I was told heroin injected within “safe” injection sites made everything Okey-Dokey – and marijuana was essentially benign!
How in God’s NAME did this happen?
Oh. Maybe because this isn’t God’s way at all?
Why do the junkies always cross the centerline? The need to learn to nod out to the left.
Sounds like a joke.
Why did the junkie cross the road?
To kill on the other side.
I drove drunk many times in my life and am thankful I never had an accident or ever hurt anyone. Now I have been sober for over forty years and look back at it and think about how stupid I was. I have talked to other drinkers, to try to get them to stop driving under the influence, but it never seems to sink in. My sister got busted recently and I can’t feel sorry for her.
A sliver of good news from the quoted WCAX article that didn’t make into this VDC article: “Data from Vermont courts shows total DUI charges for the whole state have declined each of the last two years”
Please drive sober, rested, and without distraction from a smartphone.
And most importantly buckle up!
I recall the big push to discourage hand held devices when driving. Now, you have a computer screen on the dash that you have to look to the right to see it. You have to go thru several menus just to turn the heater up or down, or to adjust your seat or to check your tire pressure. I still like push buttons and slide controls. It worse than it was before.