West Lebanon — Two employees of residential schools for at-risk youths have pleaded not guilty to criminal charges stemming from a single-vehicle car crash on Oct. 26 in Lebanon.

Jeffrey Caron, 48, of Plymouth, N.H., faces a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence as well as a reckless driving violation.

Kellen Fitzgibbon-Bizel, 32, of Thornton, N.H., faces five felony counts of possessing controlled drugs that weren’t prescribed to him, including Suboxone, Vicodin and Valium, police said.

Through their attorneys, both men filed paperwork in Lebanon District Court last week, a measure that waived their formal arraignements, which were scheduled for Monday, and entered not guilty pleas remotely.

Police said Caron had been drinking and was driving erratically on Route 4 when he slammed into a telephone near the Enfield town line, according to a news release that came out shortly after the October crash. Fitzgibbon-Bizel allegedly had a variety of painkillers in his possession at the time, the release said.

The crash was caught on camera by the woman who was driving behind the men, and video footage showed Caron swerving back and forth while tailgating another car as he drove west toward the new Route 4/4A bridge. He then veered off the roadway onto the right shoulder and appeared to try and pass other vehicles before striking a telephone pole.

Caron suffered minor injuries in the crash.

The two men in October worked at Mount Prospect Academy in the Grafton County town of Plymouth, and the Vermont Permanency Initiative Inc., which operates the Vermont School for Girls in Bennington, Vt. Both programs, which aid at-risk youths, fall under the umbrella organization of Beckett Family of Services.

Beckett Family of Services Legal Affairs Director David Chabot declined to comment on whether Caron and Fitzgibbon-Bizel are still employed; in October, Chabot said they had been placed on leave from their positions.

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At that time, Caron was the executive director of Mount Prospect Academy and the president of Vermont Permanency Initiative; Fitzgibbon-Bizel was the facilities director for both of those organizations.

In a Monday telephone interview, Chabot said the two men were on their way to the Vermont School for Girls at the time of the crash.

Chabot didn’t know where the men’s trip originated, he said.

Mount Prospect Academy and the Vermont School for Girls both help at-risk youths with cognitive, behavioral and other special needs.

Some of the youths who attend the programs take medications on a regular basis, Chabot said. The youths aren’t prescribed medications on-site.

Asked if he was concerned about whether the drugs allegedly found on Fitzgibbon-Bizel might have come from one of the schools, Chabot said he wasn’t.

“We are under regulation by the state of New Hampshire for very careful safekeeping and tracking of medications used at our residences,” Chabot said. “I can confirm that the drugs that were found in the vehicle did not come from a Beckett residential program.”

Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello said investigators aren’t sure where the drugs Fitzgibbon-Bizel allegedly possessed came from. That is a question to which the department may never get an answer.

Chabot said he couldn’t say with certainly whether any of the drugs Fitzgibbon-Bizel allegedly possessed — Tramadol, Tramadol Hydrochloride, Suboxone, Vicodin and Valium — have ever been prescribed to students at either residential treatment facility.

“Beckett Family of Services has worked closely with state regulators in Vermont and New Hampshire to assure them that we are taking all appropriate precautions, or continue to take all appropriate precautions, to keep our children safe,” Chabot said. “That is our highest priority.”

He added: “The situation on Oct. 26 was clearly a disruptive event and we are striving to maintain our focus on the treatment of youth who are at risk.”

Mello, the police chief, said his department is no longer investigating the car crash and has handed its reports over to the prosecutor.

Ben LeDuc, a Lebanon police prosecutor, is prosecuting both cases at this stage, court documents indicate.

Fitzgibbon-Bizel is being represented by George Ostler, of Norwich, while Caron is being represented by Timothy Bush, of Nashua, N.H.

Ostler on Monday declined to comment; a message left for Bush wasn’t returned.

Both men remain out on $10,000 personal recognizance bail.

Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.