By Guy Page
An Enosburg farm worker was under the influence of drugs when he pulled his farm tractor onto Rte. 105 in Sheldon, causing a collision fatal to oncoming motoryclist Rodney Hall, 71, of Milton, state police said today.
Rte. 105, a state highway connecting St. Albans to Enosburg via Sheldon, has been the scene of nine traffic fatalities since January 2021, the County Courier, Franklin County’s community newspaper, reported August 18.
Police announced today the cause of one of the deaths: on May 6, the operator of a farm tractor was under the influence of drugs when he pulled out in front of a motorcycle driven by a Milton man.
After a thorough investigation from Troopers of the St. Albans Barracks along with the Crash Reconstruction Team and the Franklin County State’s Attorney’s Office, it was determined that the surviving and at-fault operator, Jason Kennison, 38, of Enosburg, was under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash. Kennison was issued a citation to appear in Franklin County Superior Court on September 9 to answer to the charge of DUI-Drugs.
On May 6, shortly after noon, police received a report of a two vehicle crash involving a motorcycle and a farm tractor towing a piece of farm equipment. A Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy arrived on scene and advised state police that Hall, the operator of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, was deceased. Police say the tractor appeared to pull into the roadway in front of the motorcycle which was traveling west on Route 105. Kennison, the operator of the tractor, was transported to the St. Albans Barracks on suspicion of DUI.
Statewide, 2022 traffic deaths were at 50 as of a week ago, the County Courier reported. That’s up seven fatalities over the same date last year. A 10-year-average for the date is 36.