A Highgate woman was killed in a rollover crash on Interstate 89 in Georgia on Monday that police say involved another driver they have charged with being under the influence of alcohol.
Lindsay Benoit, 66, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, Georgia Fire Chief Keith Baker said. The other driver, 52-year-old Michael Spear of Georgia, was arrested and charged with drunken driving and driving with a suspended license, according to a Vermont State Police press release. He was not injured, according to police.
State police said Benoit was driving behind Spear in the passing lane around 6 p.m. on Monday, and as she came up on Spear’s car, her car began to drift over the rumble strip and side-swiped Spear’s vehicle.
Both cars then drifted off I-89 and into the median, according to police. Benoit’s vehicle crashed into a tree, police said, before rolling over and coming to a stop on its roof.
Spear’s car came to a stop nearby but remained upright, according to police. Spear’s car had moderate damage and Benoit’s car was totaled, police said.
Baker said a combination of factors in the crash, not just one, may have caused Benoit’s death. He said the road was dry at the time.
“That’s hard to tell,” Baker said. “It was a hard impact, and obviously, the car rolled over.”
Spear was cited to appear in Franklin County Superior criminal court on Friday at 1 p.m.
A state police investigation into the crash is ongoing.
— Shaun Robinson
