Man shoots himself after two traffic stops

FAIR HAVEN – A man fatally shot himself when town police pulled him over for driving erratically on North Main Street and then pulling into the town's park early Sunday morning, Fair Haven police said in a news release.

Police said Nathaniel Vandenburg, 21, of Fair Haven had been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol a few hours before the incident, registering a blood alcohol level of 0.145 percent. The legal limit for operating a motor vehicle is 0.08 percent blood alcohol content.

At 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, police said they saw Vandenburg operating a tractor on Washington Street with minimal lighting. Vandenburg turned into the parking lot of Mac's convenience store, and police drove around the building to see where the tractor had gone.

Once police located the tractor, Vandenburg began to back up, and he almost struck the police officer's patrol car, police said.

Police interviewed Vandenburg and found him to be under the influence of alcohol and in possession of an open alcoholic beverage. The Fair Haven man failed field sobriety exercises, and he was taken into custody, police said. Vandenburg was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and released to family members so he could appear in Vermont Superior Court in Rutland at a later date.

At 2:10 a.m. on Sunday, police said they saw a car being driven erratically on North Main Street, which eventually turned into the town park and drove to the center. As police approached the vehicle, the operator fatally shot himself. The driver was identified as Vandenburg, police said.

The case is currently under investigation.