POWNAL, Vt. — The rash of car break-ins that hit Williamstown, Mass. earlier this month has crossed the border.

Vermont State Police reported Monday 21 reports of unlocked cars being broken into during the weekend. Sergeant Brian Turner said the Vermont Fusion Center, a collaboration of law enforcement agencies, advised police that the two sprees could be linked because of the similarities.

"It could be up to 30 or 40 cars that were broken into," Turner said Monday. "They were all unlocked."

Similar to the Williamstown, Mass. break-ins, locked cars were not touched, items are being found on the side of the road near the incident and the stolen items range from money to electronics to personal items.

The thefts occurred between midnight and 6 a.m. Sunday on Barber Pond, Puddingstone, Middle Pownal, and Maple Grove roads.

"We're getting some tips in that we have to follow up on and we do have suspects," Turner said. "It's kind of like they are walking and just taking what they want." Earlier this month,

Williamstown, Mass. Police Chief Kyle Johnson said 22 unlocked vehicles were broken into and money, electronics – like GPS systems and digital cameras – and personal items were stolen. In some cases, personal effects were found on the roadside a short distance away.

According to Johnson, the vehicles were entered overnight in 16 locations including Main Street, North Street, Lindley Terrace, Buckley Street, Jamieson Heights, Porter Street, Belden Street, Henderson Road, North Hoosac Road, Sand Springs Road, Summer Street and Walnut Street.

Williamstown Experiences Slew of Vehicle Break-ins

Original Post: By: Staff Reports On: 11:26AM / Monday April 04, 2011

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Police continue to field reports of stolen items from unlocked cars during the weekend.

Police Chief Kyle Johnson said as of Monday 22 unlocked vehicles were broken into over the weekend and reports keep coming. Money, electronics - like GPS systems and digital cameras - and personal items were stolen. In some cases, personal effects were found on the roadside a short distance away.

Johnson said police currently do not have any leads in finding the culprit and asks that suspicious activity is reported immediately.

According to Johnson, the vehicles were entered overnight in 16 locations around town, including Main Street, North Street, Lindley Terrace, Buckley Street, Jamieson Heights, Porter Street, Belden Street, Henderson Road, North Hoosac Road, Sand Springs Road, Summer Street and Walnut Street.

Police are urging residents to remove all valuables and secure their vehicles.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A small car flipped over on the Mohawk Trail just south of the intersections with Daniels and West Shaft roads closing the trail to traffic.

The driver, Danny Briggs, 29, of West Main Street, was out of the car before emergency vehicles arrived. The accident occurred at about 5:30 p.m. and shut down traffic over the trail for about an hour while the car was removed.

Three police vehicles and two firetrucks responded to the scene.

The car was eastbound when it hit the snowbank near the Chief Motel, careened into the westbound lane and flipped. It came to rest on its top about 100 feet from where it hit the bank.

The vehicle sustained heavy damage, including a smashed in rear window. Parts of were scattered on the road along with items from the car. The vehicle was towed by Mohawk Auto.

Briggs was charged with operating under the influence.

Updated 9:08 a.m. A Lifeflight helicopter turned back after hitting poor conditions over the mountains. The patient was taken to North Adams Regional Hospital and a few hours later taken to  Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center by ambulance.

The crash reportedly occurred when the vehicle went over an embankment at the dead end of Highland Avenue. That information has not been confirmed by police.

ADAMS, Mass. — A single-vehicle accident early Saturday morning left two young people seriously injured, according to scanner reports.

A Lifeflight helicopter that was to land in the Adams Internists parking lot turned back after hitting poor conditions over the mountains. It was supposed to take one of the vehicle's occupants to Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center, reportedly with a head injury. A second individual was taken by ambulance to Berkshire Medical Center.

The crash occurred around 1 a.m. on Glendale Drive, a dense residential area off West Road. Police were looking for a third occupant who was believed to have left the scene.

Adams and North Adams ambulance services responded to the scene along with police and firefighters.

Update Monday, Oct. 4, 2010, at 2:45 p.m.: Balsamo was sentenced in Berkshire Superior Court on Monday morning to six to 10 years at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute at Cedar Junction on the vehicular homicide charge. The other charges were filed.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Connecticut woman pleaded guilty on Wednesday morning to charges related to the Sandisfield crash that killed Erin Dufour of Chicopee last year. Dufour, who was also listed by authorities as residing in Tolland, spent much of her life in Western Massachusetts.

Pamela N. Balsamo, 48, of Cedar Lane, Barkhamsted, Conn., appeared before Judge John  Agostini in Berkshire Superior Court. She pleaded guilty to single counts of motor vehicle homicide while under the influence of alcohol and operating to endanger, failure to stay within marked lanes and speeding.

Agostini ordered that she be held without bail at the Berkshire County House of Correction pending sentencing which will occur Monday, Oct. 4, at 10 a.m.  
 
Balsamo was operating a Mercedes that struck the 29-year-old Dufour's Honda head-on on March 18, 2009.

The investigation was conducted by state troopers assigned to the Lee barracks.

Chicopee Woman Killed in Sandisfield Head-on Crash

11:40PM / Wednesday, March 18, 2009

SANDISFIELD, Mass. — A Chicopee woman was killed Wednesday evening after her car was hit head-on by another vehicle on Route 8 near Tucker's Tavern.

Erin E. Dufour, 29, of was northbound on Route 8 in a 2008 Honda hatchback at about 8 p.m. when she was struck head on by 47-year-old Pamela Balsamo of Barkhamsted, Conn., who was driving a 2002 Mercedes sedan south in the northbound lane, according to the preliminary investigation by Trooper James Somerville of the Lee barracks.

The Dufour suffered serious injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene by the medical examiner. Balsamo was transported by ambulance with serious injuries to Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington, Conn.

The crash remains under investigation with the assistance of the state police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and Crime Scene Services. The Sandisfield Police Department, Fire Department and emergency medical services and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner assisted troopers at the scene.

All lanes of Route 8 were closed for approximately 1 ½ hours for the crash investigation and vehicle removal.

Dufour had lived in Western Mass for 10 years and was a Pella Windows sales representative. Born in Maine, she spent much of her life there but spent her senior year of high school in New York, graduating from Bethlehem High School in Delmar.

An outdoorswoman and athlete, she received best in show for driving "The Queen Bee" at a tri-county demolition derby in Northampton. She loved cats and volunteered at the local animal shelter. Her parents live in Lakeville.

Updated with victim's identity, Thursday, March 19, 2009, 8:45 a.m.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009: This story has generated a great deal of interest so we have included more information about Ms. Dufour and a link to her obituary in SouthCoastToday.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A city woman was killed Friday afternoon in a three-vehicle crash on Route 2 in Orange. Her identification has not been released pending notification of family.

Update: Police identified the woman as 59-year-old Anne Hill at 7:24 on Saturday morning.

Three others were injured in the crash, which occurred at about 3:15. State police from the Athol barracks responded to the scene.
 
Preliminary investigation by Trooper Frank Parillo indicates that a 2003 Toyota Matrix operated by a 59-year-old North Adams woman was eastbound on Route 2 when it veered into the westbound lanes, striking a 2008 Hyundai Elantra operated by Catherine Runge, 25, of Quincy. The Toyota then struck a 2010 Ford F-150 pickup truck head-on that was operated by John F. Maquire III, 45, of Stow.

The North Adams woman was transported to Athol Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Runge and Maquire were both transported to Athol Memorial with minor injuries.

Three passengers in the pickup were also taken to Athol Memorial: Susan Dearborn,47, was then transferred to University of Massachusetts Medical in Worcester with serious injuries. An 11-year-old boy suffered minor injuries and a 7-year-old girl was transported as a precaution. All three reside in Stow. State police do not release the names of juvenile victims.

The crash remains under investigation by Troop C with the assistance of the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the Crime Scene Services Section. Troopers were assisted at the scene by the Orange Fire Department and the state Department of Transportation Highway Division.

During the crash investigation, the roadway was closed for approximately three hours for emergency response, vehicle removal and crash investigation.