Steven Bourgoin, the alleged wrong-way driver who slammed into a car, killing five teenagers, pleaded not guilty Friday to five counts of second-degree murder.
Bourgoin is being held without bail and is in the custody of the Department of Corrections at the UVM Medical Center, where he’s been a patient since the late Saturday wreck.
Judge James Crucitti arraigned Bourgoin in a UVM Medical Center conference room converted into a makeshift courtroom. Hospital personnel and a State Police officer wheeled the 36-year-old Williston man into the room on a partially reclined hospital bed. Bourgoin, his face still bruised, did not speak and his eyes remained closed throughout the appearance.
Instead, his attorneys — Robert Katims, a private lawyer contracted by the Office of the Defender General, and Sara Puls, a public defender — entered pleas on his behalf and requested a competency hearing. Crucitti granted the request.
The teens killed in the crash were Eli Brookens, 16, of Waterbury; Janie Cozzi, 15, of Fayston; Liam Hale, 16, of Fayston; Mary Harris, 16, of Moretown; and Cyrus Zschau, 16, of Moretown. Services for four of the high school students have been scheduled:
- Brookens’ service will be held at the Stowe Mountain Resort Midway Lodge on Saturday at 3 p.m.
- Zschau’s service will be held at the Inn at the Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield on Sunday at 3 p.m.
- Harris’ service will be held at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church in Waitsfield on Monday at 11 a.m.
- Hale’s service will be held at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church in Waitsfield on Tuesday at 10 a.m., followed by a reception at Lincoln Peak Gate House Lodge, Sugarbush Resort.
Donovan also described additional evidence and eyewitness accounts that led his office to file the murder charges. A neighbor told investigators he observed Bourgoin, roughly 15 minutes before the crash, “aggressively” drive away from his house. A motorist who pulled over at the scene of the wreck told police that a distraught, nervous man matching Bourgoin’s description told him: “I don’t know what happened … I just lost control.”
Donovan also noted that the black box in the truck that caused the crash showed that the driver had been wearing a seatbelt at the time of impact. Police say Bourgoin had a bruise across his chest that “was consistent with wearing an operator’s side shoulder and lap belt.”
“To go five miles in the wrong way at night at a high rate of speed certainly exhibits an extreme indifference to the value of human life, and that’s why we brought the second-degree murder charge,” Donovan said.
Bourgoin had gone to the emergency room at the UVM Medical Center several times on Saturday morning. Donovan told reporters that, contrary to previous statements from him and Vermont State Police, it was “unclear” whether the Howard Center had been called after Bourgoin arrived at the medical center.
In a statement released Wednesday, the Howard Center said it had been contacted by police and was cooperating with the investigation.
An affidavit filed in support of the second-degree murder charges states that police searched Bourgoin’s home and found several items indicating financial distress, including: a foreclosure notice; a notice of a gas shut-off because of unpaid bills; a notice of a lien from the homeowners association; multiple medical bills; as well as legal paperwork pertaining to domestic assault and child custody cases.
Bourgoin’s supervisor at Lake Champlain Chocolates told police that Bourgoin left his job at the Williston warehouse early last Friday, and told her he was resigning because of money problems. A friend of Bourgoin’s, who had lunch with him that same day, told police Bourgoin was stressed about his job, along with his divorce and custody cases. Bourgoin’s ex-girlfriend was granted custody of their daughter in September.
The ex told police that Bourgoin suffered “mood swings” and used marijuana to stabilize. When he ran out of pot, Bourgoin would “not think clearly, and has no regard for those around him, even loved ones,” the ex-girlfriend told police.
Another witness driving north on Interstate 89 late Saturday told police she saw a truck driving north in the southbound lane. According to her account, the truck drove at a high speed past several honking cars. It was not swerving, and she told officers that the driver seemed to be “on a mission.”
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I smell an insanity defense brewing. The kids will never get justice.
For the love of GOD I hope he doesn’t get away with this..He needs to be in prison..5 lives were taken, .he’s still alive..he should get a life sentence for each of the young teenagers..People have problems but the insanity defense is used way to much here in Vermont..
Can we please stop referring to this guy as “ALLEGED wrong way driver”?? Between that and his smiling photo they’ve been showing you would think he committed a traffic violation, not murdered 5 innocent kids.
I believe we have a concept in the American justice system of presumed innocence until proven guilty. I see the press and the commenters have all tried and convicted this man without benefit of the protections of constitutional and judicial rights that he might possess. Just sayin’.
In the wake of tragedy, people tend to look down the river and get lost in “What could have been done to stop this” or “If only he had help”. Sadly, it didn’t happen. And even worse, 5 young kids were killed, others injured, and a community shaken because of this. The fact is that it indeed happened. And labeling the DA as a “sick opportunist” is a bit much. He’s got one of the biggest tragedies in Vermont recently unfolding, the community breathing down his neck, and a 5 families that want justice for their kids. I don’t think him doing his job in a timely fashion shows traits of being a “sick opportunist” or a “typical politician”.
The man walked away from hitting the car full of teenagers, got in the police car and sped off down the road turned around and came back hitting more cars..Don’t think he was that insane, we as the public don’t know everything.. Mr Donovan is doing his job, he charged him with 5 counts of murder, that was his job, Bourgoin was not an unconscious man when they wheeled him in to the room, he was awake,(he had no life threatening injuries) but refused to say anything or open his eyes, he was either advised by his lawyers to do that or he just refused to respond..maybe he is insane or he is doing a good con job..Yes the law is “innocent till proven guilty” ..both sides will have to do their job..Just remember this, what if it was your child that was killed in that car, wouldn’t you want justice right off? This man still has his life..the 5 young teenagers don’t, they had their lives taken away..we need to be their voice..
Have the family lawyers and family court judge(s)
responsible for escalation of the Bourgoin family
conflict–i.e., for causing this community massacre
on the Vermont highway–have they been identified?
Re. Ian McCullough’s 12:03 pm post: Suits against the Howard Center
and the UVM Hospital for wrongful deaths would have a steep proximate cause
hurdle to overcome. However, a family court permitting the use of litigation instead
of mediation to resolve a child custody case, this can be expected to result in bankruptcies,
foreclosures, suicides and homicides (roughly half of these in the US are caused by
child custody litigation), especially when family lawyers are involved in escalating the
conflict, and there is real property and minor children are involved. A much better and
more productive legal action by the five families would be a RICO action against
whichever family court and family lawyers tortured and impoverished the Bourgoin
family to the point of causing a massacre, and tragedies among five other families.
Ian, the point being, the 6 families will advance/promote
justice not by going after two health care agencies
that failed to prevent the massacre, but by going after
the individuals who caused the massacre, especially
any who profited from (or were paid for) escalation of
the Bourgoin parentage matter,
What ever happened to personal responsibility? Don’t make this POS a victim. If one of my kids had been killed …
How dare any of you defend a man who is so obviously responsible for killing these beautiful people. Reading these comments I nearly threw up at the sight of your ignorance. Mary was an athlete that even if you weren’t that good made you feel like the teams mvp. Eli’s voice couldn’t help but make you smile even if he just said something simple like hello. Liam’s sarcasm was something to look forward to when you get up and come to school. Cyrus’ sense of humour made you look at things differently and made you look on the positive side. And Janie’s love for her family inspired you to connect with those you love. Defending the man that took these people off the earth is sickening and you should be ashamed of yourselves. Innocent until proven guiltily my ass he deserves to rot in hell after he has rotted in jail for the rest of his miserable waste of space life.