The phone calls started late Friday night in Sheldon, a tight-knit Vermont community. They carried the kind of news that chills you to the bone. A crash. On Route 78. Someone’s son, someone’s friend, didn’t make it. The victim was quickly identified as 21-year-old Jacob King, a local young man whose life ended abruptly on a snowy stretch of road near his hometown.
It was about 8:40 p.m. on December 26th, the day after Christmas. According to Vermont State Police, Jacob was driving his 2015 Audi A4. The roadway was partially covered with snow. For reasons still under investigation, Jacob lost control. The car veered off the road and slammed into a tree with terrifying force. The impact was so severe that the vehicle was catastrophically damaged, deemed a total loss at the scene.
Here is the heartbreaking detail that has left his community grappling with a wave of "what ifs." Troopers confirmed that Jacob King was not wearing his seat belt. He was pronounced dead right there on the roadside. Two of his friends, 21-year-olds Brennan Pandis and Raven Graves, both from Highgate, were in the car with him. They managed to crawl out of the wreckage before help arrived. They also were not buckled up, sustaining only minor injuries. They were treated by ambulance crews and released.
First responders from the Sheldon Fire Department and Amcare Ambulance rushed to the scene alongside state police. They faced a grim task. The contrast was stark: two young people, shaken but walking away, and their friend, whose life was taken. Investigators have pointed to speed as a likely factor in the crash, even though the weather was reportedly clear at the time.
Now, the investigation continues. Trooper Andrew Underwood of the St. Albans Barracks is piecing together Jacob’s final moments. Police are asking anyone who might have seen the Audi traveling on Route 78 Friday night, or witnessed the crash itself, to come forward. They hope every small detail can provide clarity to Jacob’s grieving family.
In Sheldon, the loss is deeply personal. Jacob wasn’t a name in a news brief; he was a 21-year-old from here, with a life ahead of him. His death serves as a brutally stark reminder, especially in a winter season known for hazardous roads, of the simplest act of safety. A click of a seat belt. A choice that, in this tragic case, made the difference between walking away and not surviving at all.
As the community leans on each other, the focus turns to support for the King family and the sobering lesson left behind. A young man’s potential, gone on a familiar road. And a plea from police for anyone with information to call Trooper Underwood at 802-524-5993, hoping for answers in a moment where there are none.
