WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Monday night rollover crash that has become known nationwide for a dog’s heroism will have long-term effects on the many people and animals whose lives are connected to the two men who were in the vehicle.

Police have charged the driver, Cameron Laundry, 31, of, North Hartland, with driving while intoxicated.

Justin Connors, a 40-year-old Norwich resident who was a passenger in the 2019 Ford F350 Laundry was driving, remains hospitalized at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Connors had surgery Tuesday to reconnect his femur and tibia to his hip with a long metal rod and was due to have surgery Wednesday to ease compression in his cervical spine, Kristen Connors, his ex-wife, said in a phone interview Wednesday.

“He’s a self-employed father of three, and he’s got a very long road of recovery ahead of him,” Kristen Connors said.

The crash also claimed the life of Connors’ dog, Grizzy, a year-old American bulldog who had been given to the Connors’ three daughters as a Christmas puppy in 2020.

Both Laundry and Justin Connors were ejected from the truck when it left the highway and rolled over at around 10 p.m. Monday night, coming to rest in the gully between the northbound lanes of Interstate 89 and the ramp to Interstate 91 north.

Laundry was not wearing a seatbelt, according to a news release from Vermont State Police. He was treated for minor injuries at DHMC and released.

Laundry provided a blood sample while at DHMC and was given a citation to appear in Windsor County Court on Feb. 15. Other charges are pending.

The story of the crash has traveled far and wide after a New Hampshire State Police social media post was picked up by outlets ranging from the Boston NBC affiliate to CNN.

Laundry said Wednesday that he’s been overwhelmed, having talked to everyone from local media to the BBC.

“The main thing that’s been on my mind is what Justin’s going through,” he said in a phone interview.

His dog, Tinsley, a Shiloh shepherd, is a hero, he said: “If something positive came out of it, she saved us.”

Laundry and Connors got together for dinner on Monday. They’re both landscaping and excavation contractors and have worked together. They headed home after dinner with the dogs in the backseat of Laundry’s truck, he said.

Asked about the charge against him, Laundry said, “I’m still kind of really gathering everything that went on (Monday) night.” He said he’s been “back and forth with my doctors and medications” and that might have had an effect.

“Obviously, we did have some drinks, but I don’t think there was any overdrinking whatsoever,” he said.

New Hampshire State Police and a Lebanon police officer responded to a call about a dog in the northbound lanes of Interstate 89 on the bridge over the Connecticut River. Tinsley led the officers to the accident, the social media post said.

The news release from Vermont State Police tells a slightly different story. State police received a call at 10:12 p.m. and were en route to the crash when the New Hampshire officers arrived and tried to catch Tinsley.

“When they approached the scene, they observed the vehicle involved in the crash and called for an ambulance and started to render aid to the operator and passenger laying in the snow,” Trooper Stacia Geno wrote in the VSP news release. “The German shepherd stood by her owner as officers assisted him and the passenger.”

What happened to Grizzy is less clear. State Agency of Transportation workers found her Tuesday morning. She appeared to have been struck by a vehicle after the initial accident, Kristen Connors said Wednesday.

“She was a good dog, and my girls are going to miss her very, very much,” she said.

Friends of Justin Connors collected the dog’s remains, made a casket for her and planned to bury her behind Connors’ shop. He owns and operates Connors Landscaping and Excavation.

Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Kristen Connors is the only person who’s been able to visit Justin Connors in the hospital. Their three girls — Payton, 10; Sutton, 9; and Emerson, 5 — stayed home from Dothan Brook School on Wednesday in the care of Justin’s mother, Kristen said.

“Their school has been nothing short of incredible,” Kristen Connors said, making counseling available and arranging supports for their expected return on Thursday.

Kristen Connors said she and her ex-husband remain close. They’ve known each other since second grade and they’re both members of Hartford High School’s Class of 2000.

Reached at work — she’s general manager at Vermod, the Wilder-based modular housing company — she said she’s just trying to hold it all together.

“I don’t know what the future is going to look like,” she said. Her husband has a lot of friends and “a great support system.” And he’ll probably be able to walk again, she said.

Alex Hanson can be reached at ahanson@vnews.com or 603-727-3207. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.

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