Stephen Lalancette, 73, of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, died Tuesday afternoon following an incident on U.S. Route 5 South in Barnet, Vermont.
Vermont State Police responded to the area near Carter Road at approximately 4:01 p.m. on September 15 after receiving a report of a motor vehicle crash. Investigators said Lalancette was the sole occupant of a truck that swiped a guardrail before continuing north for a short distance and pulling off the roadway.
Witnesses told police they saw Lalancette leave the truck and appear to be acting erratically. He then appeared to jump from a nearby cliff and suffered fatal injuries in the fall. First responders pronounced him dead at the scene.
A follow-up investigation indicated Lalancette may have been suffering from a medical emergency at the time of the incident. Vermont State Police said his death is not considered suspicious.
The official cause and manner of death have not yet been determined. Lalancette's body is being taken to the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Burlington for an autopsy.
The incident has left Lalancette's family and community mourning his sudden death as authorities continue working to establish the circumstances leading up to the crash and subsequent fall.
