Great Barrington — Wearing khakis, blue button down shirt and a tie, Dylan Winters was arraigned this morning (December 22) in Southern Berkshire District Court with Judge Fredric D. Rutberg presiding. Winters, 24, of High Street in Canaan, Conn., has been charged with three counts of leaving the scene of a property damage accident, one count of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, and one count of negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
Judge Rutberg entered a not guilty plea on Winters’ behalf, and kept his bail at $500.
Winters is due back in court on January 22, 2015 for a pre-trial hearing.
Winters, 24, of High Street in Canaan, Conn., was arrested Thursday night (December 18) after his gray 2007 Subaru Legacy, heading northbound crossed the two southbound lanes of Main Street (Route 7) and hit a pedestrian walking on the sidewalk in front of Town Hall, leaving her bleeding from her head, according to Great Barrington police. Amy Smith, 24, of Medford, Mass., was airlifted to Hartford Hospital “with possible internal injuries, severe lacerations,” and was released the following day (December 19) in stable condition “with no serious injuries.”
Winters’ car also destroyed two cement park benches valued at $1,000, and seriously damaged two cars parked in front of Town Hall: a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta valued at $30,000 and a 2013 Nissan Altima worth $25,000, according to the report.
Berkshire Assistant District Attorney Michael D’Angelo tried to raise Winters’ bail to $1,500, given the seriousness of the accident. Later, Clerk Magistrate Thomas Bartini explained by phone that it was the combined “severity of the case, his living out of state, and leaving the scene,” that prompted D’Angelo to try to raise the bail.
But court appointed attorney Harry Conklin stated that Winters “ultimately turned himself in,” has “local ties,” and “works for Wilkinson’s.” Conklin further said Winters “has no substantial record … no reason to believe he would leave.”
A representative from Joe Wilkinson Excavating Inc., who declined to be identified, confirmed that Winters works for the Sheffield-based company, and also noted that he was laid off the Friday after the accident as part of a seasonal layoff. “He knew when he was hired that that’s how it works here.”
It is still unclear what made Winters lose control of his car. Police received the call of a hit and run around 7 p.m., and two officers arrived at the scene almost immediately. The preliminary police report stated that a witness observed a gray car with no headlights and “heavy front-end damage” leave the scene and head south on Main Street. The driver, said the witness, got out of the car, then got back in, before he drove off.
Great Barrington Police Officer Christopher Peebles went as far as the Sheffield town line to find the driver, while Officer Daniel Bartini tended to Smith. Smith’s boyfriend, Gregory Hughes — with whom she had been walking at the time — said the car came from behind them on the sidewalk when it hit Smith. In addition to the benches and cars, Winters’ car also hit a tree and the stone monument in front of Town Hall. Medics from the Southern Berkshire Volunteer Ambulance squad arrived and began to treat Smith, who was lying near a tree, bleeding from her head and “complaining of severe pain on her right side.”
Scouring the scene, Officer Bartini found a piece of Winters’ bumper with the license plate attached, and traced the plates to Winters with an address in Otis, the home of his stepfather (who declined comment). State police went to that residence and found no one home.
Soon after the accident a witness called police saying she saw a “dark colored car smoking” as it traveled up Taconic Avenue.
At around 8 p.m., Winters arrived at the Great Barrington Police Department, and turned himself in, declaring, “I was the one who hit the girl on Main Street.” His parents brought him to the station after he had abandoned his car, he said, at Sheffield Pottery on Route 7. Winters told police that before the accident, he had been on his way to an AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting. He said he last remembered passing the town police station on Route 7, before waking up with his airbag inflated, realizing he had just had an accident. He also told police that he fled the scene because he “did not want to get into trouble.”
The accident is still being investigated by Great Barrington police and the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit. A surveillance video from Wheeler & Taylor Insurance across the street from Town Hall is also being analyzed. Winters’ car was impounded by police, and his Casio cell phone confiscated as part of the investigation.
Witnesses Gregory Hughes of Medford, Mass., and Rebecca Mann of Great Barrington could not be reached in time for this dispatch. Attorney Harry Conklin also declined comment.
