Lebanon
Daniel Cowdrey, who limped into the Lebanon District Court courtroom this afternoon with his elbow wrapped in a bandage, faces charges of negligent homicide and aggravated driving while intoxicated in the crash on Interstate 89 just south of the West Lebanon exit. No plea was entered at his arraignment.
Cowdrey was driving a green Subaru Legacy northbound in the southbound lane of Interstate 89 shortly before 9 p.Wednesday when his car collided “in a near head-on fashion” with an oncoming Nissan Versa, a State Police news release said.
The driver of the Nissan, Ellynn Koelsch, 34, of Cranston, R.I., suffered serious injuries and died at the scene. Her 4-year-old son, Anthony, was taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center with serious injuries, police said. They said he is in stable condition and expected to live.
Cowdrey suffered minor injuries and also was taken to DHMC, according to police. A police affidavit said Cowdrey hit one car near Exit 19, then proceeded north on the southbound lanes toward Exit 20 before hitting Koelsh’s car. Cowdrey told police he had had “a few beers” at a restaurant in downtown Lebanon. The affidavit also said “as he was brought into the hospital he was stating ‘I’m just a drunk buffoon.’ ”
Family members declined to speak to a reporter at his arraignment.
Koelsch was an Ohio native who worked as a physical therapist in East Providence, R.I.. She had volunteered in Haiti for orphaned children with disabilities and also had been head of Run for Freedom, which raises awareness about human trafficking.
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Updated at 3:05 p.m. Thursday. For more information see Friday’s Valley News.
