Wild truck chase in Burlington, Friday

On Friday, June 28, at 12:24 PM, Burlington Police Dispatch received a report of a beige Ford F-250 driving erratically on Riverside Avenue. The vehicle, reportedly weaving and nearly hitting other cars, was heading towards Winooski. The Winooski Police Department was alerted as the truck approached the roundabout.

By 12:33 PM, another 911 call reported the same Ford F-250 had struck a parked car and fled towards North Winooski Avenue. The registration matched the earlier report. Officers were dispatched, learning en route that the truck was stolen from Essex.

Further 911 calls indicated the Ford F-250 was driving erratically on Pearl Street, hitting a curb and mounting the sidewalk near the Downtown Transit Center on Cherry Street. The Burlington Fire Department (BFD), nearby, saw the vehicle heading east on Pearl Street and then west on Grant Street before losing sight of it on North Street.

The situation escalated when the truck crashed into a house on Manhattan Drive and hit another parked vehicle while fleeing. Multiple 911 calls then reported the truck at Salmon Hole off Riverside Avenue, heading west. Officers located the truck but it refused to stop, swerving around a police cruiser and crashing into a vehicle stopped at a traffic light. The truck reversed, rammed the vehicle multiple times, and broke free despite officers’ commands.

The Ford F-250 sped down North Winooski Avenue, entered St. Joseph’s Cemetery, and crashed into a gravestone. Officers ordered the driver out, but he reversed, hit a police cruiser, and struck another gravestone before fleeing on foot. Officers set up a perimeter and captured the suspect, Thomas Halloran, 48, at the bottom of a hill. While in custody, Halloran bit an officer’s leg, causing injury.

Halloran was lodged at Northwest Correctional Facility on $10,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on July 1, 2024, at 10:30 AM. He faces multiple charges, including Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Multiple Leaving Scene of Accidents, Simple Assault on a Police Officer, Aggravated Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer, Unlawful Mischief, Eluding a Police Officer, Resisting Arrest, and Grossly Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle.

Guv lets ‘Baby Bond’ bill become law despite $6.5 million hit to state budget

The Vermont Child Care Contribution tax goes into effect beginning today.

Under Act 76 of 2023, employers will pay a 0.44% payroll tax on wages paid, with an option to withhold up to 25% of the tax from employees. Self-employed individuals will pay a 0.11% tax on self-employment income [Journal-Opinion newsletter].

Insurance bills become law – On June 28, Gov. Phill Scott signed H.890, delaying implementation of certain health insurance claims editing requirements.

Also on June 28, Scott allowed H.55, An miscellaneous unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and employment practices amendments and establishing the Vermont Baby Bond Trust, to become law without his signature.

He expressed his concerns about the Baby Bond Trust in a letter to the Legislature:

As the title of this bill suggests, it is an expansive collection of initiatives, some of which will be beneficial to Vermonters and some of which may add to the growing and unsustainable cost burdens imposed by this Legislature.

On the one hand, the bill moves toward better early detection of cancer in firefighters, who are known to have a much higher risk of developing cancer compared to other occupations. It also expands the availability of unemployment benefits from four weeks to ten weeks during a declared state of emergency.  

On the other hand, it establishes well-intentioned workers compensation presumptions for certain state employees and a so-called “Baby Bond Trust.” The Baby Bond Trust program alone has the potential to add $6.5 million to the State budget, and likely increase annually. However, having said that, the Treasurer has made assurances that at least one public donor and private foundations will provide financial and other support, at least in the short term.

This bill fails to acknowledge the obvious questions about funding pressures in the future. But as in many other instances this legislative session, I’ve been put in the position of weighing the good versus the bad, which leads me to let this bill go into law without my signature.