Sharon
Alisha Boice had to be extricated from a 2005 Toyota Matrix following the head-on crash with a box truck shortly before 7 a.m., according to a news release from Vermont State Police. Boice was transported to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
She was a passenger in the sedan being driven northbound by her mother, Janice Boice, 56, of White River Junction. The box truck was being driven southbound by 36-year-old Timothy Smajla, of Stratford, Conn.
Janice Boice also was transported to the hospital with unknown injuries, Vermont State Police Trooper Jeremy Lyon said. A DHMC spokesman on Tuesday afternoon said he couldn’t release any information on her condition.
Troopers are continuing to investigate the collision, which took place near the intersection of Sharhart Road and Route 14, which sits approximately 1 mile north of the West Hartford Library.
Police said “poor weather and road conditions were contributing factors” in that crash, as well as many others around the Twin States on Tuesday. Police described the road conditions as icy, snowy and slushy.
Alisha Boice, a 2015 graduate of Hartford High School, had been a member of the First Congregational Church in Lebanon and was active in the Special Olympics, the Rev. Steve Silver said on Tuesday.
Known for her infectious smile, Boice left a positive and lasting impact on those in her church community, Silver said.
“She was just filled with energy; she loved seeing people,” he said. “She had some developmental challenges, but rather than let those keep her back, she seemed to take those as just a barrier to work through.”
“This is just really … ” Silver said, trailing off. “People just loved seeing her when she came to church.”
Boice also was known in the Listen Community Services community and volunteered for several years.
“She was just so sweet. She would brighten your day, even if it was a bad day,” said Listen Sales Associate Stephanie Hayden, of Wilder, who met Boice in 2016.
Boice loved movies, books and the color pink, Hayden said.
“If we couldn’t find her, she was at the movie section,” Hayden said with a laugh. “Anything pink, she’d just go nuts over. … She is definitely going to be missed a lot.”
Boice also excelled in alpine skiing with the Upper Valley Hawks, Special Olympics team leader Missie Rodriguez said.
“She improved a lot over the years,” Rodriguez said, adding that Boice played other sports as well. “She tried really hard at everything she did.”
A message left for the Boice family wasn’t immediately returned on Tuesday.
Several other crashes also were reported around the Upper Valley on the first winter weather morning commute of the season, including one in Newbury, Vt., involving a school bus.
Five Newbury Elementary School students were transported to Cottage Hospital as a precautionary measure after their school bus was involved in a three-vehicle crash that caused minor damage to the rear of the bus.
No injuries were reported from the crash that took place during heavy snow at about 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday on Route 5, according to a news release from Vermont State Police.
Pauline Bonanno, 58, of Haverhill, was driving a 2016 Jeep Compass southbound, near the intersection with Snake Road, when she saw the bus driving in her direction.
“Upon seeing the school bus, (Bonanno) attempted to make more room on the road for the bus to get by, but lost control of her vehicle as she hit a patch of ice,” Trooper Luke Rodzel said in the release.
The car behind Bonnano, a 2004 GMC Sierra 1500 operated by Scott Mathews, 45, of Haverhill, lost control when Mathews tried to avoid the Jeep, police said. It hit the same patch of ice, sliding into the Jeep and then into the rear left side of the bus.
Police said the school bus operator, William Jones, “immediately pulled over and ensured all occupants were safe.”
In total, Vermont State Police dealt with more than 75 motor vehicle crashes and slide-offs between midnight and midafternoon on Tuesday. Troopers also responded to other weather-related incidents including downed trees and power lines, according to a news release.
Police in Cornish responded to four accidents between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., one of which was a rollover on Town House Road, Cornish Police Chief Doug Hackett said.
The driver was uninjured, Hackett said.
The drivers in the other crashes in town, including one on Route 120 and two on Route 12A, also escaped without injury. All were wearing their seat belts.
“The roads were very, very slippery,” Hackett said.
With more winter weather in the forecast, Hackett encouraged all drivers to buckle up, get their winter tires put on and drive for the conditions.
Just because a motorist may be driving under the speed limit doesn’t mean he or she is driving for the conditions, Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello said.
“That, coupled with following vehicles too closely during inclement weather, account for the vast majority of accidents,” he said, adding that Lebanon police responded to two incidents on Tuesday morning.
Vermont State Police also sought to remind motorists “to slow down, leave extra distance between vehicles, allow plenty of time to get to your destination and clear off all snow and ice from windows and roofs.”
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com.