WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A 55-year-old Bethel man pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of driving under the influence of alcohol when he struck a motorcycle carrying a Cornish couple on Route 14 in Royalton.
Corey Stevens, 49, and Kristi Stevens, 48, were taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon with what police described as “life-threatening injuries.” Their motorcycle was hit by a 2002 Chevrolet Impala driven by Brett Mulcahy, of Bethel, on Sunday afternoon, according to a Vermont State Police news release.
D-H officials said the couple were listed in “fair” condition on Monday, meaning they are conscious and their vital signs are stable and within normal limits, according to the hospital’s website.
Corey Stevens, a Cornish police sergeant and longtime IT director for the town of Hanover, and his wife, Kristi, are both “on the road to recovery,” Cornish Police Chief Doug Hackett said on Monday.
“He’s a community-oriented guy. He’s obviously worked for a small police department for a lot of years now,” Hackett said of Stevens, who joined the police department in 2000.
Mulcahy told officers he was driving from a friend’s house on Route 14 when he attempted to turn onto Route 107, placing him in the path of the Stevens’ southbound motorcycle. When asked what happened, Mulcahy told police, “I really didn’t see much,” according to a court affidavit written by State Police Trooper Patrick Tingle.
State troopers were called to the intersection around 4:19 p.m. Sunday and closed a portion of Route 14 for about 5½ hours during the investigation. Mulcahy estimated he was driving between 10 and 15 mph, while Corey Stevens told police his motorcycle was traveling about 35 mph.
Kristi Stevens was taken to DHMC by helicopter and was being treated for brain bleeding and a fractured pelvis, according to court documents. Corey Stevens was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and suffered from a separated pelvis and “multiple other minor injuries.”
Mulcahy failed a field sobriety test and was taken to the state police barracks in Bethel where tests showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.082, just over the legal limit of 0.08.
Mulcahy told officers he began drinking at 1 p.m. on Sunday and only had two drinks of rum and soda. However, police later found a receipt for a bottle of rum purchased at 2:30 that afternoon, according to court records.
Mulcahy pleaded not guilty to DUI resulting in serious bodily injury and a second count of gross negligent operation of a motor vehicle in Windsor Superior Court. If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of one year in jail.
He was released on the condition that he not buy or drink any alcoholic beverages and seeks alcohol counseling. Mulcahy declined to comment after his arraignment.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.