Driver Fell Asleep Before Running Into Williamstown Porch

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A Vermont woman was asleep at the wheel prior to crashing into a Simonds Road residence last week, according to a Williamstown Police Department report.
 
Nicole L. Bishop, 32, of Route 9 in Bennington, Vt., Wednesday afternoon was traveling north on Simonds Road (U.S. Route 7) when, "the operator fell asleep, crossed the marked double line, through [two] yards, and into the front porch of 1033 Simonds Road," according to a report written by Officer Brad Sacco.
 
The 2003 Toyota that Bishop was driving belonged to Angela Mattison Barr of Bennington, police said.
 
The car left the road just north of the turnoff for the Steinerfilm property and crossed through the front yards of two other properties before crashing into the front porch at 1033 Simonds Road, Sacco wrote.
 
Neither Bishop nor a passenger in the car, Dennis Young, 53, of Bennington, was transported from the scene by ambulance, according to a representative of Northern Berkshire EMS, which responded to the incident.
 
Likewise, no one living at the residence was reported to be injured.
 
According to the town's tax records, the home is owned by Jean M. Beliveau and Thomas E. Rand.
 
The police report says Bishop was cited in the accident.

Tags: motor vehicle accident,   

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Williamstown Fire District Inks 3-Year Deal with New Chief

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff

Jeffrey Dias of the Onset Fire Department has signed a contract to become Williamstown's fire chief. 
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town's next fire chief says he was "ecstatic" when he heard that he would be offered the post.
 
On Tuesday afternoon, the Prudential Committee ratified a contract to make Jeffrey Dias the successor to Chief Craig Pedercini, who retired from the post on Monday.
 
"It's very sad to leave someplace you've been the better part of three decades," said Dias, currently the deputy chief and a long-time firefighter in the South Shore community of Onset. "But I'm very excited. A lot of big things are going to happen in the future."
 
The five-member Prudential Committee, which oversees the district, selected Dias on March 12 from among three candidates it interviewed earlier in the month.
 
Last week, the committee held an executive session — a rarity for the body — to discuss the negotiation of the contract. And on Tuesday, at a special meeting, the board voted to approve the deal.
 
Dias agreed to a three-year deal with a $125,000 base salary and 3 percent cost-of-living adjustments in years two and three.
 
"We are very excited to have Chief Dias lead the department forward as we look forward to the completion of our new station and the future of the Williamstown Fire Department," Prudential Committee Chair David Moresi said on Thursday.
 
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