CHELSEA — A Newbury, Vt., man has pleaded not guilty to charges he crashed his truck into a tree while driving under the influence of alcohol, injuring two passengers in the vehicle.
Jake St. Martin, 29, was arraigned in Orange Superior Court on Monday on felony charges of driving under the influence with injury resulting and leaving the scene of a crash with serious injury. He was ordered released on conditions, including that he have no contact with the three passengers in his pickup truck and that he not buy, have or drink any alcohol.
One of the passengers riding in St. Martin’s truck, Gabrielle LaMotte, 25, remained in critical condition at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon. Another passenger, her boyfriend Casey Sylvester, 29, was treated with injuries and released from the hospital, according to family members; and a third passenger, Dexter Gaiser, 35, was uninjured in the crash.
The charges stem from a crash a little before 1 a.m. Sunday morning in Fairlee when St. Martin, driving the three passengers in his 2003 Dodge Dakota, left a home on 121 Lake Morey Road with a plan to “do doughnuts in his truck,” Gaiser later told police in an interview, according to a police affidavit.
While driving south he passed Vermont State Police Trooper Luke Rodzel who was going north in his police cruiser on Maurice Roberts Memorial Highway, according to an affidavit written by Rodzel. St. Martin almost ran Rodzel off the road, prompting the trooper to put on his lights and sirens and attempt a traffic stop, he wrote.
Gaiser, who was sitting in a rear passenger seat, later told police that St. Martin had “freaked” when he drove past Rodzel and “said something about outrunning the trooper,” according to another affidavit written by Trooper Domonique Figueroa.
After St. Martin fled, Rodzel turned off his siren lights and drove south on Maurice Roberts Memorial Highway and then onto Lake Morey Road on the east side of the lake, trying to locate the truck, he wrote. A few minutes later he came across the truck, which had crashed into a tree and then spun into a parked car at the intersection of Lake Morey and Redmond roads.
The crash, which ripped a rear door off the truck, happened moe than 4 miles south of the home St. Martin had left from, according to Rodzel’s affidavit.
When Rodzel arrived, St. Martin tried to run from the scene but the trooper found him hiding behind a nearby house and ordered him into custody at gunpoint, the affidavit said.
Police started administering first aid on LaMotte, who was riding in the rear passenger side of the truck and was unresponsive when police arrived. Sylvester, who was riding in the front passenger seat, was also barely able to move and appeared “disoriented,” according to police.
During their investigation, police smelled alcohol on St. Martin’s breath and asked him about his drinking that night, according to an affidavit from Trooper Kimberly Harvey. St. Martin told police he had been drinking beer and vodka, but he didn’t know how many drinks he had. A test showed that his blood alcohol content was 0.186%, more than twice the 0.08% legal limit, according to court documents.
Sharon Sylvester, the aunt of Casey Sylvester, said in a phone interview Tuesday that she was devastated by the news, adding that her nephew, who has since been released from the hospital, and LaMotte have been in a happy relationship for around six years.
She said LaMotte has a daughter in elementary school.
“We’re praying every day that Gabby makes it,” she said. “They’re really good kids.”
St. Martin faces up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted of the DUI with injury charge. A future court date has not been set.
Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.