Friends and family are mourning the death of Rosetta “Zetty” Weber, Waitsfield, who died in a car crash on Route 100 near Harwood on April 11, 2024. Weber had planned to participate in the cross-country ski leg of this weekend’s Mad River Triathlon and friends and family taped letter Z’s to their shirts and skinned up Inverness at Mount Ellen and skied down in her honor.
Friends describe her as engaged and athletic, an avid climber and skier. A native of Guilford, Vermont, she worked for Burton’s Chill Foundation as vice-president of operations. She and her husband, Parker Weber have a 2-year-old daughter Bridger.
Blake Cote and his wife Liz Gleason are close friends with the Webers and lived with them in Burlington for a time. He said that the Webers bought a home near Mount Ellen and moved to The Valley three or four years ago, to be closer to skiing. Gleason is one of the creaters of two GoFundMe campaigns to raise funds for the family.
INCREDIBLY POSITIVE
“One thing all her friends would say is that Zetty was an incredibly positive and fine soul. She was just so kind and welcoming and touched so many people. She had that aura about her, and I never heard her say an unkind word,” Cote said.
He said that the two GoFunMe campaigns had already received over 700 donations as of April 15. Here is a link to the first one:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporting-rosetta-webers-family
HEAD-ON CRASH
Weber, 39, was killed in a head-on car crash on Route 100 by Ward Hill, near Harwood Union on Thursday, April 11, 2024, when her northbound Subaru Crosstrek was hit by a semi-trailer driven by 24-year-old Satnam Singh of Brampton, Ontario. Weber was pronounced dead at the scene and Singh was taken to Central Vermont Medical Center where he was treated and released to police. That accident occurred at 6:45 a.m. and Route 100 was closed until 5 p.m. requiring school buses to be rerouted. According to state police, Singh was traveling south on Route 100 when he crossed the center line and hit Weber’s car head on.
Singh was charged with a felony, negligent operation with death resulting, a charge that carries up to 15 years in prison and a fine up to $15,000. With bail set at $150,000 Singh pled not guilty in Vermont Superior Court in Barre before Judge John Pacht on April 12, appearing from jail via video-conference with a sling over the right side of his body. His attorney, Andrew Pappone entered the not guilty plea with an online interpreter translating the hearing from English to Punjabi.
NO BAIL REDUCTION
Pappone told the judge that Singh and his wife had been living in Canada for two years and that Singh had a brother in California willing to help with his bail. Pappone told the court that the family was of limited means and asked that bail be reduced to $5,000 so that his family could afford it. He said it would be important that the family not lose that money, arguing that that would compel Singh to return to Vermont for court appearances. Talon Wendel, assistant Washington County State’s Attorney objected, pointing out that Singh has no connection to the United States other than in California. He said extradition would cause delays.
Judge Pacht held bail at $150,000 after explaining that he would need more information about Singh and his ties to Canada, where’d he be staying if he was free on bail, and more information about his family’s finances. He said the court would be willing to reconsider the issue of bail with additional information and more time. Singh remains at Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury.
NOT IMPAIRED
Vermont State Police Trooper Robert Lemnah, in an affidavit, provided details about the crash and notes from the hospital noting Singh’s arm and shoulder injury. That affidavit also notes that Singh was not impaired at the time of the accident.
There were two eyewitness accounts included in the affidavit. One eyewitness, Matthew Bailey followed Singh’s truck through the Waterbury roundabout and the village and onto Route 2. Bailey told Trooper Lemnah that the semi crossed the center line near Snowfire and at the intersection of Routes 2 and 100 and again near Crossett Brook Middle School which caused cars to swerve into the breakdown lane to avoid collision, Lemnah reported. Bailey passed Singh’s truck after that.
CROSSING CENTER LINE
The second eyewitness, school bus driver Kelly Poulin, said she left Crossett Brook, heading south with several cars between her bus and the semi. She told police that the truck was traveling very slowly, and several vehicles passed it.
“Poulin stated as they began coming down hill headed towards Harwood Union High School the defendant’s driving became erratic. Poulin said as the defendant began swerving in his lane. The defendant also crossed the center line to various degrees at least three times before reaching the crash scene,” Lemnah wrote in his affidavit.
The site of the crash is just south of the entry to Harwood High School near the intersection with Ward Hill Road. Poulin’s account says she witnessed the crash, only realizing afterward that the truck had collided with another vehicle. “She advised she never saw the defendant hit his brakes and went straight into the turn. Poulin advised she saw the defendant crash and didn’t see he had hit another vehicle until the dust and debris had settled,” Lemnah wrote.
SWERVED
When initially interviewed by state police, Singh told police that Weber was driving too fast coming around a corner and that her Subaru hit his truck.
Per Lemnah, the Subaru’s data recorder showed that Weber was driving 38 mph five seconds before the crash and had slowed to 23 mph when the crash happened. The data recorder also showed that Weber swerved sharply to the right to avoid the crash.
