STATE OF VERMONT
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
VERMONT STATE POLICE
NEWS RELEASE
MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH
CASE#: 25B3000094
RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Trooper Michael Arel
STATION: Shaftsbury Barracks
CONTACT#: 802-442-5421
DATE/TIME: 01/07/26 at approximately 0554
STREET: Burrington Rd
TOWN: Pownal
LANDMARK AND/OR CROSS STREETS: US Route 7
INTERSTATE MILE MARKER: N/A
WEATHER: Snowing
ROAD CONDITIONS: Snow Covered
VEHICLE #1
OPERATOR: Joseph M. Walsh
AGE: 56
SEAT BELT: Unknown
CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Pownal, VT
VIOLATION: Leaving the Scene of a Crash with Serious Bodily Injury Resulting, Reckless Endangerment, Grossly Negligent Operation, Driving with a Criminally License Suspended
PASSENGER: Billie Jean Adams
AGE: 31
SEAT BELT: Y
CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Pownal. VT
VEHICLE YEAR: 1994
VEHICLE MAKE: Toyota
VEHICLE MODEL: Camry
DAMAGE TO VEHICLE #1: Totaled
INJURIES: Major
HOSPITAL: SVMC
UPDATE: On 02/05/2026 at approximately 1520 hours, Vermont State Police responded to the Best Western Motel in the Town of Bennington after receiving information that Joseph M. Walsh was staying there. Walsh was ultimately located and placed under arrest for outstanding arrest warrants related to this investigation.
Walsh was processed for the above violations and remanded to the Marble Valley Correctional Facility as his warrant was a hold without bail. Walsh will be arraigned in the Vermont Superior Court Bennington Criminal Division on 02/06/2026 at 1230 hours.
SUMMARY OF CRASH:
On 01/07/26 at approximately 0554 hours, the Vermont State Police-Shaftsbury Barracks was notified by State Dispatch of a single vehicle crash in the area of 824 Burrington Rd in the Town of Pownal, VT. It was reported that the passenger was trapped, and the operator was missing.
Upon arrival, Adams was extricated from the vehicle and transported to SVMC for emergent care, then to the Albany Medical Center.
Early investigations show the 1994 Toyota Camry was traveling north on Burrington Road toward US Route 7 when it veered off the roadway and struck a tree head-on. At this time, the vehicle's operator is unknown.
VSP asks anyone with information, including businesses or people in the area who might have video of the roadway, to contact the Shaftsbury Barracks at 802-442-5421. Anonymous tips can be provided online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
Trooper Colin Shepley
Vermont State Police Shaftsbury
96 Airport Road Shaftsbury, VT 05262
802-442-5421
