The man who allegedly killed five Vermont teens when he smashed into their car while driving on the wrong side of the road is set to face criminal charges.
Steven Bourgoin, 36, is due to be arraigned in a Vermont court on Friday.
He faces five counts of second-degree murder for the Saturday night collision in which five high school juniors were killed when their car hit a pickup truck that police say was driven by Bourgoin and was heading in the wrong direction.
The crash occurred on a roadway in Williston, Vermont, which is just east of Burlington.
Police say Bourgoin crashed into the teens' car in Williston and then stole a police cruiser before crashing it into at least seven other vehicles late Saturday night.
Chittenden County state's attorney TJ Donovan has said he 'would not classify what occurred on Interstate 89 as an accident.'
Police on Tuesday served an arrest warrant on the hospitalized Bourgoin for use of the cruiser.
On Thursday, the state filed the murder counts against him in the teens' deaths. Public defenders working on the case did not immediately return phone calls or emails seeking comment.
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| Bourgoin was left unconscious by Saturday's crash and was in critical condition Monday morning. The scene of the wreckage in Williston, Vermont, is pictured above. |
State police said at least nine other people were injured in the series of crashes and were taken to UVM Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
Chittenden County state's attorney TJ Donovan has said he 'would not classify what occurred on Interstate 89 (above) as an accident'.
Bourgoin, who would face 20 years to life in prison on each murder count if convicted, is to be arraigned in a conference room of the hospital, where his condition has been upgraded from critical to good.
The teens killed in the incident were identified as Mary Harris, 16, of Moretown; Cyrus Zschau, 16, of Moretown; Liam Hale, 16, of Fayston; Janie Cozzi, 15, of Fayston; and Eli Brookens, 16, of Waterbury.
'The loss of five teens in such a senseless tragedy is unimaginable and heartbreaking,' Gov. Peter Shumlin said.
He ordered flags to be flown at half-staff.
Classmates, teachers and staff at Harwood Union High School in Duxbury, where four of the five were students, held a candlelight vigil for them Monday evening.
About 1,000 people attended. Many cried before releasing lanterns that floated off into the chilly night.
A Williston police officer was the first to arrive on the scene of Saturday's collision.
As he tried to extinguish the car fire, a man, later identified as Bourgoin, jumped in the officer's cruiser and took off, state police said.
When a Richmond police officer tried to stop him, Bourgoin turned the cruiser around and began heading north in a southbound lane, back toward the crash scene, hitting seven other vehicles along the way, authorities said.
Bourgoin was then thrown from the cruiser, which went up in flames.
State police said at least nine other people were injured in the series of crashes and were taken to UVM Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
In addition to the murder charges, Bourgoin is also on trial for domestic violence.
Authorities in Vermont alleged that Bourgoin had previously threatened to kill himself and his girlfriend in a car crash.
Police went to Bourgoin's home in May for a welfare check - a visit that ended in him being arrested for domestic assault and unlawful restraint.
His now ex-girlfriend had told police that Bourgoin had stopped her from leaving the house with their two-year-old child, hitting her in the head and threatening to throw her down the stairs and smash her skull on the floor.
Mary Harris (pictured) was one of the five Vermont high school juniors who died in the crash.
Liam Hale (pictured left) and Eli Brookens (right) also died in the crash in Williston, Vermont
The five teenagers in the car, including Cyrus Zschau (left) and Janie Cozzi (right), were all pronounced dead at the scene.
She then tried to escape in her car, according to a police affidavit, but he jumped in after her and took control of the wheel.
As he drove the terrified woman around the area, he pulled at a lanyard around her neck and threatened to crash the car, swearing that he would 'kill both of them before he let his child go,' the affidavit claims.
Bourgoin had done something similar when they lived in Mississippi, the woman said.
He was scheduled to go on trial for domestic abuse next month, though it is unclear how the events of the past few days will impact that case.
