WEST CHARLESTON — Two people from Orleans County were tragically killed in a single-vehicle crash that took place in West Charleston on Sunday.
Police say Esperanza Robles, 29, of Derby Line, and Ryan Coulter, 26, of Newport, were killed in the crash that happened on Vermont 105, at around 4:40 p.m.
According to a statement issued by police, Joshua Cole, 30, of Derby, was operating a 1994 Honda Prelude traveling west in the town of West Charleston, when he lost control while exiting a sharp corner.
The vehicle traveled off the north side of the road.
Cole’s vehicle then struck a large tree off the side of the roadway.
Police say the three passengers were all ejected from the vehicle, and that no one in the car was wearing a seatbelt.
Amanda Letourneau, 27, of East Charleston, suffered head and leg injuries.
Cole also suffered head injuries from the crash.
“Alcohol and speed are factors contributing to the accident,” a statement issued by Sgt. Sean Selby of the Vermont State Police reads.
The accident remains under investigation.
![Placeholder Image](https://www.newportdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-08-at-3.07.52-PM.png")
Can we stop calling this and similar events “accidents”? That word implies this was an unavoidable incident, when it is a predictable outcome of alcohol, speed, and no seat belt usage.
Tragic? Absolutely. Accident? Hardly.
God give comfort to the families.
I’m in 100% agreement with you. I just had this conversation yesterday with someone. Although, I must admit, sadly I find myself having it far more often than I would like to. My son was hit 2 years ago by a drunk driver at 630 in the morning while he was on his way to work. Def not a phone call any parent ever expects nor wants or should have to wake up to. In the officers exacts terms “Thank God for your sons sake the only thing that saved his life is that he was hit from behind vs head on otherwise he would have been killed.” We need to start giving more harsh sentences to these drunk drivers!! IMO all drink drivers need to be handled as “premeditated” cases! They know before they start drinking they have the choice to give their keys to someone else to drive them home, but they choose not to do that. Therefore, premeditated!
Thinking of and praying for all families involved!
Dont be an a**
The definition of accident is actually
“an unfortunate incident that happends unexpectedly and unintentionally typically resulting in damage or injury.”
No what they did was not good but do not put it out there like they were stupid people. If it was your family member you would not be commenting like this. Bringing this topic up so early is a disgrace and a slap in the face to the families. Not nice.
Thanks, Katie, for making my point. This cannot be considered an “unexpected” incident, since the factors alleged to be involved would make this a statistically expected outcome, tragically and unfortunately.
My comments were directed at neither the victims or their families, but at a news media that continues to refer to these events as “accidents”, when for the most part, they are anything but.
“No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth.”–Plato
‘Accident’ doesn’t imply inevitability or an unavoidable outcome, and unless 100% of drivers with alcohol in their system get into a car crash, then yes, the outcome can be said to be unexpected.
None of this is said to excuse the driver – if he was drunk, he should be prosecuted as harshly as the law allows. One of the passengers killed was my cousin.
That said, if you want to wage war on the damn dictionary, do it someplace else. Oh, and comparing one’s self to Plato is some grade-A sanctimony, you douche.
They drank all day, they drove at high speed around a bend, and they didn’t put their seat belts on. If that’s not a definition of STUPID then I’m sure I don’t know what is, Katie. I should think the bereaved families and the children that are now left behind are grieving so much that they have more to worry about than ‘topics’ as you termed it and, personally speaking, I’m sure they’re too numb with grief to worry about ‘a slap in the face’ as you describe it. The truth is, those who died and were injured were stupid. They were also reckless. And that is what you would you be too if you drank, drove drunk, didn’t have a seat belt on, and sped around a corner that is plainly MARKED with ’35 mph’. We’re just lucky it was a tree that they hit instead of a innocent pedestrian or a car full of innocent (not drunk) people coming from the other direction. There is nothing ‘tragic’ or ‘accidental’ about this incident. It wasn’t ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’ that was to blame, and no one poured booze down their throats or brain washed them not to wear seat belts. It was caused by sheer stupidity.
Tired of Selby being judge and juror. He has no right stating things while an incident is under investigation.
The prior post proves my point. Already people are judging due solely to the statement from a known a$$hole.
You should not behave this way during this time of tragedy.
Ok….listen most incidents/tragedies like this are called accidents ,even when possibly due to gross negligence, simply because incidents such as this one IS NOT DONE WITH PURPOSEFUL MALICIOUS INTENT,we all make horrible decisions and mistakes some result in more disastrous outcomes,ones that can and will change the lives of many, but these INCIDENTS ARE ACCIDENTS, NO MATTER THE REASON,MOST TRAGEDIES LIKE THIS ONE ARE NOT DONE ON PURPOSE ,SO THAT’S YOUR THOUGHT,THIS IS MINE AND ALL CAN MAKE THEIR OWN MINDS UP ON WHAT IS OR ISN’T AN ACCIDENT
may your perfect life, outlook and wisdom come crashing down on you someday Roy.
Please be nice to each other….????May God Bless and comfort all that are heartbroken in this tragedy????❤
I feel that when four adults (who have been drinking all day long) decide to get into a car and expect to to be able to drive it, at high speeds, and with impaired judgement, then they are guilty of endangering their own lives and of gross negligence.
Worse still, they are also guilty of endangering the lives of everyone else on the road. So – it’s not an accident when they crash and kill themselves, it’s a crime, and one they could shave avoided if they had NOT decided to drink and drive. I hope the survivor is jailed for his crime for a very long time.
Body parts were strewn all over the road. There was a lot of trauma involved for those who had to go along and clean up the mess. Do drunk drivers ever think of that when they merrily pile into their cars along with their drunk passengers?
These were four adults, with children, and with relatives who loved them. They should have known better. It’s no good people saying “Well, no one ought to judge because we’ve all done something silly like this in our lives.” Guess what – I make a conscious decision NOT to drive if I drink, so do a lot of other people I know. Guess that’s why we are NOT dead and why we have NOT killed anyone else. What it all comes down to is how conscious you are of the impact your actions will make on everyone else.
If you disregard everyone else’s right to live, if you don’t respect the society you live in, and if you drive a car while you’re drunk then don’t expect my sympathy. It’s about time people woke up and started being responsible for their own actions and stopped making excuses for those who are too pig ignorant to give a damn about others.
Judgemental much?