Vermont State Police say a 52-year-old woman drove around a flagger who had signaled her to stop in a Landgrove construction zone on October 19, then struck a second flagger before driving away. The flagger, 28-year-old Luke Bartley, suffered minor injuries and did not require hospitalization. Troopers later located the driver, Nicole Crossman, and cited her with negligent operation and leaving the scene of an accident.
According to Vermont State Police, troopers were notified of the crash on Hapgood Pond Road at approximately 12:30 p.m. Police said Crossman entered the construction zone and went around a traffic flagger who had already signaled for her to stop, then struck Bartley as he attempted to stop her vehicle. As reported by WRGB, Crossman faces charges after reportedly entering the flagged work zone and striking Bartley.
Police said Crossman left the scene after the collision but was subsequently located and cited. The citations — negligent operation and leaving the scene of an accident — stem from Vermont statutes that require drivers involved in a crash causing injury or property damage to immediately stop and render reasonably necessary assistance, per the Vermont Legislature. A separate statute defines negligent operation of a motor vehicle on a public highway, according to the Vermont Legislature.
A Pattern of Danger for Roadside Crews
Flagger strikes have made headlines well beyond Vermont this year. In Horseheads, New York, a 20-year-old man was arrested in July after he allegedly targeted and struck a flagger with his 1999 Ford Mustang in an active work zone, leaving the flagger with bruising and other non-life-threatening injuries, as reported by Equipment World. In Montana, Jordan Keeling Porter, 39, was accused of striking a flagger near Whitefish while driving a white Toyota pickup truck, a crash that left the flagger with a broken foot and a hospital stay, according to the Daily Inter Lake.
The risks aren't hypothetical for Vermont crews, either. James Alger, 38, of Barre, died after being struck while directing traffic on Route 7 in New Haven; police said driver Jennifer Bergevin, 49, of Middlebury, crashed into him as she entered the construction zone, per WCAX. Alger was airlifted to the UVM Medical Center with severe facial and internal injuries and died overnight.
Work Zone Crashes Are Common Nationwide
The Landgrove incident fits into a broader trend documented by the construction industry. A 2025 survey from the Associated General Contractors of America found that 60% of contractors reported a motor-vehicle accident in one of their highway work zones within the previous 12 months, according to Equipment World's report citing the survey. That figure underscores how often flaggers and road crews face moving traffic that fails to slow down or stop.
It remains unclear what, if any, factor beyond the alleged failure to stop contributed to the Landgrove collision. Vermont State Police have not released additional details about the crash beyond the citations against Crossman for negligent operation and leaving the scene of an accident.
