Number Of Fatal, Serious Accidents Continues To Rise In CT

CONNECTICUT — It was another weekend of tragedy on the roads in Connecticut as one person was killed, and several others suffered serious injuries in multiple accidents.

Recently, it appears that the number of serious crashes on the roads is rising and so is the loss of life. But what does that data show?

Traffic fatalities increased in Connecticut last year during the pandemic, according to a report by the National Highway Safety Administration and QuoteWizard. Connecticut experienced a 22 percent increase in traffic fatalities in 2020, which was among the nation's highest percentage increase.

Connecticut reported 254 traffic fatalities in 2019 and that number increased to 310 in 2020.

Between June 2016 and June 2021, there have been 501,320 total crashes in Connecticut, 121,708 resulted in at least one possible, suspected minor, suspected serious, or fatal injury, according to a report prepared by the state of Connecticut. A total of 1,120 people died in accidents and 5,141 sustained serious injuries during this five-year time period, the report states.

Major accidents this weekend

State Police said Jarquis Tyrell Johnson, 30, of Middletown, was killed in a six-vehicle accident on Interstate 91 in Meriden Saturday afternoon. Six vehicles were traveling south of Exit 18 in the right lane when traffic started to slow ahead. As traffic started to slow, a vehicle driven by a New Haven man proceeded forward and struck a car driven by Johnson, a Ford Fusion, which started a chain reaction which resulted in a six-car accident, according to a report.

Several people were taken to the hospital as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene, state police said.

The cause of the accident is under investigation but state police noted: "At the time of the investigation the weather was clear under daylight skies, the roadway was dry, and traffic was moderate and moving at a steady flow."

Serious accident on I-95 Saturday in Stamford

Inmer Cruz - Ramos, 37, of Strawberry Hill Road in Stamford, suffered serious injuries in a multi-vehicle accident that occurred at 2:20 a.m. on I-95 northbound prior to Exit 6, State Police said. He was found in the roadway, according to a report.

State Police said a Middletown man was driving a tractor-trailer in the right lane and a Volvo driven by a Bronx, New York man was traveling in the deceleration lane adjacent to the Middletown man's vehicle, State Police said.

The Acura driven by Cruz-Ramos was at an uncontrolled final rest, between the right lane and center lane, State Police said. Cruz-Ramos' vehicle was hit by the tractor-trailer, which started a chain reaction and Cruz-Ramos was found in the roadway by emergency personnel, state police said.

He was taken to Stamford Hospital for head injuries sustained during this motor vehicle accident. State police are investigating.

It's not just major highways either

Naugatuck Police Lt. Mark Pettinicchi, 47, who was struck by a vehicle Thursday, suffered a shattered left ankle, broken right tibia and a broken right ankle in the crash, authorities announced.

"He has a lengthy recovery ahead of him," said Naugatuck Police Deputy Chief C. Colin McAllister as reported by Patch. "This incident highlights the dangers that officers face every day. And unfortunately, we're seeing an uptick in crime."

Pettinicchi was working an extra-duty traffic detail Thursday on South Main Street when Naugatuck police received a report of a shoplifting at the Walmart nearby on New Haven Road.

After hitting the lieutenant, the vehicle, driven by 29-year-old New Haven resident Stanton Ragar Trent, drove off, with a third suspect, Asia Shynise Paulin, 25, of Waterbury, in the passenger seat, police said.

The pair led police on a chase into Waterbury and Wolcott, and were finally apprehended in Middlebury, according to police. Three people were charged.

Teen, 16, killed in single-vehicle accident

A teen, Connor Young, 16, of East Haddam, died in a single-vehicle wreck in East Haddam on Wednesday night, according to state police. He was driving a Ford F250 Super Duty Pickup when it left the road for an unknown reason and veered left, crossing into the eastbound lane. The truck then struck a tree on the eastbound side of the road, state police said.

2 College students killed in crash in late October

Jacob Chapman and Tyler Graham, both 18-year-old business majors and members of the Western Connecticut State University Men's Lacrosse Team, died when their car left the roadway and collided with a metal beam guardrail as well as multiple trees in Colchester on Oct. 22. A third student was seriously injured in the accident.

The students were traveling westbound in a 2010 Nissan Altima on Route 354 when they attempted to pass another westbound vehicle "at a high rate of speed on the left," according to the report from the Connecticut State Police.

Is help on the way?

In the recently approved $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure bill, Connecticut will receive $3.5 billion to improve highways, including a major redesign of I-84 and I-91 in Hartford. Additionally, $561 million has been earmarked for bridge repairs, as 300 bridges are currently listed as "structurally deficient."

The dire state of Connecticut's roads is largely the reason why Gov. Ned Lamont sought to get approval for a 50-toll gantry plan in 2019 in an effort to generate revenue to improve the state's transportation infrastructure.

The proposal was never approved and ended up getting reduced to a truck-only highway user fee, which is scheduled to go into effect in 2023. This proposal is expected to generate $45 million in its first year.

With reporting by Patch editors Nikki Gaskins, Al Branch, Rich Scinto, Chris Rhatigan, Rich Kirby, and Richard Kaufman