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(Photo: Rick Russell / Vermont Standard)
The Vermont State Police say there is no evidence that drugs or alcohol were a factor in former FBI director Louis Freeh's crashing his SUV in Barnard on Monday.
Freeh, 64, of Wilmington, Del., was back in surgery Tuesday at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., where he remains under armed guard, the authorities said. He received serious injuries in the wreck.
Freeh was southbound on a rural stretch of Vermont 12 in Barnard in a 50 mph zone when he drove his 2010 GMC Yukon off the left side of the road at about 12:15 p.m., the police said. Barnard is about a 80-minute drive southeast of Burlington.
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ALSO: Federal judge, past head of FBI Freeh hospitalized with serious injuries...
The vehicle struck a mailbox and a row of shrubs, then came to rest against the side of a tree, the preliminary investigation by Trooper Mark Harvey shows.
The top of Freeh's SUV was cut off by White River Valley Ambulance, Barnard Fire Department and Barnard First Response to free him during the rescue, police said. Freeh was airlifted from Vermont 12 to Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
There were no signs of skid marks or brake marks, investigators said.
Freeh, whose family has a vacation home in Barnard, was traveling alone. He was wearing his seat belt, the police said.
Troopers have been unable to interview Freeh, but investigators hope to speak with him by the end of the week, said state police Lt. William Jenkins, station commander for the Royalton barracks. He said the section of road was relatively straight and flat.
Capt. Ray Keefe, state police commander for southeastern Vermont, said troopers are continuing to investigate the cause of the crash. Police said they will attempt to sort out whether Freeh fell asleep at the wheel, whether he was distracted, or whether there was a medical or mechanical issue.
Once the investigation is complete, a Uniform Crash Report will be submitted to the Vermont Division of Motor Vehicles.
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Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn said Tuesday that he continued to investigate why state police needed eight hours to release information about the crash. A Fox 44/ABC 22 news crews videoed the scene, and a photographer from the Vermont Standard, a newsweekly in nearby Woodstock, also covered the crash.
Flynn said Freeh's "safety and security" were important, but it was unclear why police waited to issue an official news release and refused to transfer phone calls to the night commander in southern Vermont.
The crash was first reported by media in Washington, D.C., citing anonymous sources. The Vermont State Police news release followed those initial reports by nearly two more hours, arriving at 8:22 p.m.
Freeh and his wife had dinner with U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Leahy's wife in southern Vermont a few weeks ago, according to the senator's spokesman David Carle.
"The senator has been in touch with the Freeh family," Carle said. He said the senator likely would have no further comment.
Leahy and Freeh have been friends for more than 20 years, Carle said. Part of the friendship developed when Leahy headed the Senate committee that oversees the FBI.
Freeh, a former federal judge, was the FBI's director from 1993 to 2001. At the FBI, he oversaw some of the largest and most complex investigations in the bureau's history, including the crash of TWA flight 800, the Centennial Olympic Park bombing, the Unabomber, the spy case against the FBI's own Robert Hanssen, and the Khobar Towers bombing.
He founded Freeh Group International Solutions, a consulting group with offices in Washington; Wilmington, Del.; and New York City.
In recent years, Freeh and his law firm compiled an independent report into Penn State University's handling of the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse case. The report was critical of the way the university handled allegations that Sandusky, a former assistant under head football coach Joe Paterno, sexually assaulted numerous young boys over the years.
Louis Freeh in surgery Tuesday after wreck
Mike Donoghue, Free Press Staff Writer 5:56 p.m. EDT August 26, 2014(Photo: Rick Russell / Vermont Standard)
Freeh, 64, of Wilmington, Del., was back in surgery Tuesday at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., where he remains under armed guard, the authorities said. He received serious injuries in the wreck.
Freeh was southbound on a rural stretch of Vermont 12 in Barnard in a 50 mph zone when he drove his 2010 GMC Yukon off the left side of the road at about 12:15 p.m., the police said. Barnard is about a 80-minute drive southeast of Burlington.
EARLIER
ALSO: Federal judge, past head of FBI Freeh hospitalized with serious injuries...
The vehicle struck a mailbox and a row of shrubs, then came to rest against the side of a tree, the preliminary investigation by Trooper Mark Harvey shows.
 |
| Emergency crews bring former FBI director Louis Freeh, 64, to a helicopter for transport to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., following a crash Monday on Vermont 12 in Barnard. (Photo: Rick Russell / Vermont Standard) |
There were no signs of skid marks or brake marks, investigators said.
Freeh, whose family has a vacation home in Barnard, was traveling alone. He was wearing his seat belt, the police said.
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| Emergency responders investigate the scene of a car crash involving former FBI director Louis Freeh on Monday on Vermont 12 in Barnard. (Photo: Rick Russell / Vermont Standard ) |
Troopers have been unable to interview Freeh, but investigators hope to speak with him by the end of the week, said state police Lt. William Jenkins, station commander for the Royalton barracks. He said the section of road was relatively straight and flat.
Capt. Ray Keefe, state police commander for southeastern Vermont, said troopers are continuing to investigate the cause of the crash. Police said they will attempt to sort out whether Freeh fell asleep at the wheel, whether he was distracted, or whether there was a medical or mechanical issue.
Once the investigation is complete, a Uniform Crash Report will be submitted to the Vermont Division of Motor Vehicles.
bur 0826 freeh c1.jpg
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| Former FBI director Louis B. Freeh (Photo: William Thomas Cain / Getty Images) |
Flynn said Freeh's "safety and security" were important, but it was unclear why police waited to issue an official news release and refused to transfer phone calls to the night commander in southern Vermont.
The crash was first reported by media in Washington, D.C., citing anonymous sources. The Vermont State Police news release followed those initial reports by nearly two more hours, arriving at 8:22 p.m.
 |
| The Vermont State Police say former FBI director Louis Freeh hit a mailbox as he drove off Vermont 12 in Barnard during a one-vehicle crash Monday that left him with serious injuries. (Photo: Rick Russell / Vermont Standard ) |
"The senator has been in touch with the Freeh family," Carle said. He said the senator likely would have no further comment.
Leahy and Freeh have been friends for more than 20 years, Carle said. Part of the friendship developed when Leahy headed the Senate committee that oversees the FBI.
 |
| A GMC Yukon driven by former FBI director Louis Freeh had its roof removed by rescuers following a one-car crash Monday on Vermont 12 in Barnard. (Photo: Rick Russell / Vermont Standard ) |
He founded Freeh Group International Solutions, a consulting group with offices in Washington; Wilmington, Del.; and New York City.
In recent years, Freeh and his law firm compiled an independent report into Penn State University's handling of the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse case. The report was critical of the way the university handled allegations that Sandusky, a former assistant under head football coach Joe Paterno, sexually assaulted numerous young boys over the years.
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