Newtown Man Suffers Life-Threatening Injuries In Fiery Crash In North Haven

NORTH HAVEN, CT — A Newtown man suffered life-threatening injuries in a serious crash on Route 15 in North Haven Thursday night that resulted in the vehicle becoming engulfed in flames, according to fire officials.

Firefighters responded to the scene at about 8 p.m. Thursday on Route 15 South near Exit 63 for a reported car fire, according to North Haven Fire Chief Paul Januszewski.

Januszewski said arriving units found a fully involved car fire that was determined to be the result of a crash.

Rescuers found a male victim in the driver's seat and extricated him from the vehicle, according to Januszewski. The driver was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital with serious burn injuries. He was later transferred to The Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital.

Connecticut State Police identified the driver as Paul Kus, 46, of Sandy Hook, on Friday morning.

State Police said Kus was driving in the left lane when the vehicle veered off the roadway and collided with the metal beam guardrail in the center median.

The vehicle continued to sideswipe the guardrail for about 80 feet before crossing both lanes to the right before finally coming to a stop in the grass area of the right shoulder, according to police.

The vehicle then caught on fire.

The case remains under investigation by Connecticut State Police. Anyone who witnessed the collision or has any information is asked to contact Trooper Hart at Troop I at 203-393-4200.

Editor's note: An early version of this article incorrectly identified the driver of the vehicle.

Image via Shutterstock

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