Fairfield Man Killed In Sunday Storm: Police

FAIRFIELD, CT — The severe storms that blew through Connecticut on Sunday left one person dead, and caused closures and outages that continued into Monday, according to police.

A 54-year-old Fairfield man died after a tree limb fell on his vehicle, police said. David L. Schmerzler was driving northbound at about 2:15 p.m. Sunday in the 3300 block of Sturges Highway when a large branch from a Sassafras tree fell, striking both Schmerzler and the vehicle. His wife was in the passenger seat and suffered minor injuries. Their adult daughter was in the back.

Officers found Schmerzler unconscious in the driver's seat, and he was taken to Norwalk Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The limb appears to have broken off as a result of the strong winds and the storm, according to police. The case is under investigation.

There were no other injuries as a result of the storm, Fairfield police Capt. Robert Kalamaras said. An incident in which six people were injured when a deck collapsed Sunday at a Rhode Island Avenue home is believed to be unrelated, he said.

The severe thunderstorm came through the area mid afternoon Sunday, causing mass power outages, road closures and train delays especially in southwestern Connecticut.

A tree fell on Interstate 95 between exits 13 and 14, which caused numerous delays Sunday afternoon. Numerous towns from Stamford through Fairfield reported numerous road closures, downed power lines and at one point more than 15,000 people in Connecticut were without power.

A storm Saturday has forced the temporary closure of Sherwood Park in Westport.

The Fairfield Fire Department reported on Facebook that, as of about 4:45 p.m. Sunday, 22 percent of the town had no power. By about 10 p.m., police stated the number had dropped to just over 2 percent, or 560 United Illuminating customers. As of about 8 a.m. Monday, 168 homes were without power, the fire department stated.

"UI is working to restore all homes ASAP but with the number of trees still down and roadways blocked this may take some time," the fire department stated on Facebook. "Use caution near downed trees and power lines. Treat all lines as if they were live."

Police also reported that an outage caused a problem with the department's phone system, but it was resolved by Sunday night. On Monday, town facilities were closed for non-emergency personnel after nine utility poles were downed when a large tree fell, blocking Old Post Road, Kalamaras said. The road remained closed between Oldfield and Beach roads Monday afternoon.

"Most roads have re-opened, however, tree limbs and debris can be found along many roadways," Fairfield police stated Sunday night on Facebook.

The quick-moving storms also affected rail service as Metro-North was reporting significant delays on the New Haven, Danbury and Waterbury branches Sunday afternoon.