Prominent Panton Dairy Farmer Hit Relative With Boat While Intoxicated, Police Say

Gerard Vorsteveld in 2019 Credit: File: Caleb Kenna

A well-known Addison County dairy farmer was allegedly under the influence on Sunday evening when he hit his sister-in-law with a boat in Lake Champlain, severely injuring her, Vermont State Police said.

Gerard Vorsteveld, 49, was cited for boating under the influence after the 8 p.m. incident in Arnold Bay, not far from the large Panton dairy farm he co-owns. His sister-in-law, 61-year-old Lydia Vorsteveld, was airlifted to the University of Vermont Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, police said. Officials did not describe the boat that hit Lydia.

Vermont law allows for enhanced prison time for boating-while-intoxicated offenses that involve serious injury or death. For crashes involving serious injury, the perpetrator can be imprisoned for up to 15 years. If the victim dies, the offense also carries a minimum prison term of one year.

Arnold Bay on Lake Champlain Credit: Court exhibit

Gerard Vorsteveld, who is due in court in October, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. He and two of his brothers run Vorsteveld Farm, a 2,400-acre dairy with 1,500 cattle not far from Arnold Bay. In 2019, a Seven Days reporter spent time working at the farm and wrote a cover story about the experience.
A fourth Vorsteveld brother lives in Bridport and is married to Lydia Vorsteveld.

In 2022, the Panton dairy was on the losing end of a lawsuit brought by neighbors on Arnold Bay who contended that the large farm was sending manure-filled runoff onto their lakefront property. During an interview with Seven Days in May, Gerard Vorsteveld acknowledged that the farmers had yet to implement court-ordered remedies to stanch the flow of pollution.