The man accused of killing five Waterbury area teenagers in a wrong-way driving crash on Interstate 89 was discharged from the hospital and is now being held at Southern State Correctional Facility, according to the state’s online inmate locator.
Steven Bourgoin, 36, is charged with five counts of second degree murder as well as motor vehicle related charges for allegedly driving his Toyota Tacoma northbound in the southbound lanes and colliding with the teens’ car as they drove south on Oct. 8.
The teenagers who died were Eli Brookens, 16, of Waterbury, Liam Hale, 16, of Fayston, and Cyrus Zschau, 16, and Mary Harris, 16, both of Moretown, and Janie Chase Cozzi, 15, of Fayston.
Prosecutors also allege that Bourgoin then stole a Williston cruiser that was part of the police response. He eventually drove the cruiser the wrong way through the original crash scene, striking numerous vehicles and injuring a handful of people, police allege.
Bourgoin pleaded not guilty to all charges on Oct. 14 from a hospital bed at the UVM Medical Center where he was taken after the crash. Judge James Crucitti has ordered a competency evaluation at the request of Bourgoin’s attorneys. He was ordered held without bail.
A status conference in the case is scheduled for Nov. 18.
Seven Days newspaper, which first reported Bourgoin’s discharge from the hospital, reports that the music department at Harwood Union High Scool, where four of the five teens who died were students, is hosting a benefit concert Friday at 7:30 p.m. Proceeds from the concert will go to a “celebration of life” Monday to honor the teens’ lives.
