A longtime Vermont State Police trooper was critically injured

A longtime Vermont State Police trooper was critically injured when his cruiser crashed into a stopped fire truck on Interstate 89 in Bethel on Friday morning. Patrol Cpl. Eric Vitali, a 19-year veteran with state police, was airlifted to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center after the 8:30 a.m. crash, officials said. He remained in the intensive care unit Friday night. The crash happened in the northbound lanes just north of the Bethel exit when the marked VSP cruiser struck a fire truck that was stopped on the highway after responding to a previous slide-off.  The force of the impact between the cruiser and the fire truck was significant and indicated the cruiser was traveling at highway speeds when the crash occurred. Cpl. Vitali was wearing his seat belt. The fire truck was unoccupied, and no one else was injured.