HANOVER — Police are pursuing charges against a Wisconsin woman who was employed by a third-party contractor to work at Dartmouth College in connection with a hazardous materials incident last weekend.
The 50-year-old woman from Menomonee Falls, Wisc. was seen pouring a mixture of household cleaning products into her parked car outside of Dartmouth’s 53 Commons dining hall on Sunday, prompting a call to emergency services.
When officers arrived on scene they encountered a strong chemical odor in the vehicle and liquids leaking from the bottom of the car. The mixed chemicals created a “minute quantity of dangerous gas levels” inside the car, according to a Thursday news release from Hanover Police.
Police quickly located the woman on the Dartmouth campus on Sunday. She appeared to be experiencing a mental health crisis and her vehicle was covered in signs with “nonsensical” and “bizarre” writings, Hanover police reported earlier in the week.
Law enforcement officers including Hanover Police, the New Hampshire State Police Bomb Squad and the Midwestern New Hampshire Hazardous Materials Response Team spent about nine hours cleaning up the scene before deeming the area safe Sunday.
On Thursday, Hanover police obtained a signed arrest warrant for the woman for misdemeanor disorderly conduct and offensive matter, a violation for placing materials that are dangerous to public health in a public place, the department announced in a news release.
As of late Thursday afternoon, police had tried to reach the woman to have her come by the station to be processed, but had not heard from her, Hanover Chief James Martin said.
Dartmouth College is “in touch” with the third-party vendor who employed the woman, but spokesperson Jana Barnello declined to say Friday what kind of work she was doing at the school or whether she had contact with students.