(Newswire.net — October 13, 2016) —The first 911 call arrived just before midnight on Saturday, when drivers reported that a Toyota truck driving on the wrong side of Interstate 89, in the state of Vermont, The Washington Post reports about the accident last weekend that shocked America.
After the first 911 call, several others followed. Ten minutes later, the police received another call, this time it was to report an accident.
Hoping to stop the driver before he crashed, the state and local police tried to take immediate action.
The first police officer on the scene in Williston, found two crumpled cars on the road – a Toyota truck and a Volkswagen Jetta, which was engulfed in flames. The Jetta was carrying five teenagers barely old enough to drive.
According to the Vermont State Police, the police officer grabbed a fire extinguisher and rushed toward the blaze in a desperate attempt to save the teenagers trapped inside the Jetta, but was only able to pull one of the girls out.
He was then shocked when he saw that his police cruiser, with the still activated emergency lights, speed away from the scene of the accident. It turned out that the driver behind the wheel was the Toyota driver that caused the accident, Stephen D. Bourgogne (36).
And that was not the end to the terrible night.
Bourgon escaped from the scene of the accident, and crashed into several more cars along the way, hitting at least seven vehicles while trying to get away, back along the wrong way on Interstate 89, authorities have said.
He finally came to a stop when he crashed the police car for a final time.
The driver was taken to hospital, with other five people who are, thankfully, in stable condition.
Vermont State Police identified the victims as Mary Harris, 16, and Cyrus Zschau, 16, of Moretown; Liam Hale, 16, and Janie Cozzi, 15, of Fayston; and Eli Brookens, 16, of Waterbury. The five high school students were returning from a music concert.
According to the Washington Post, a firefighter who extinguished the burning car, said it was the most horrible sight he had seen in the last 15 years.