Philip Tortora

Free Press Staff Writer

COLCHESTER- Colchester police named a pair of Burlington men Friday night as the people killed in a two-vehicle crash on College Parkway near the entrance to old Fort Ethan Allen earlier in the day.

Justin Sterling, 27, the driver of a 1997 Honda, and his passenger, Aleksander Melkumov, 28, were not wearing seat belts, police said. Both were dead at the scene of the 12:15 p.m. crash.

Their car was westbound when it jumped the raised median near Barnes Avenue and slammed into an eastbound trash truck owned by Gauthiers Trucking, police said.

Richard Brunelle, 51, of Sheldon was driving the truck and his passenger was James Hemmingway, 19, of Colchester. They were wearing seat belts, police said.

Speed was a factor in the crash, which forced detours for traffic on Vermont 15 for about four hours, police said.

The Gauthiers driver was uninjured but was examined by medical personnel on the scene. When reached several hours after the crash, Gauthiers declined to a comment.

Both directions on the heavily traveled road between Winooski and Essex were closed for several hours.

Vermont 15 was wet at the time of the noon-hour crash.

"Wet conditions are a factor we'll be looking at," Lt. Douglas Allen of the Colchester Police Department said at the scene. "Witnesses say speed appeared to be a factor, as well."

Allen said the Honda was headed west toward Winooksi "when it lost control, crossed the median and struck the Gauthiers garbage truck head-on."

At the scene mid-afternoon, first responders set up a tarp to screen the wreckage from view. The front end of the Honda could be seen with considerable damage. The sedan and the garbage truck both were facing the same way.

Colchester police are leading the investigation into the crash and are being assisted by the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Other agencies that responded to the wreck included the Colchester Center Volunteer Fire Department, St. Michael's Fire and Rescue and the Winooski Police Department.

Contact Philip Tortora at 660-1847 or ptortora@burlingtonfreepress.com Follow Philip on Twitter at @philiptortora. Mike Donoghue contributed to this story.

Look for more information as this story develops.

Follow Philip Tortora on Twitter at @philiptortora.