Vernon Fire Officials Chastise Photo And Video Seekers After Crash

VERNON, CT — What state police termed reckless, speeding driver caused a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 84 in Vernon Sunday, state police said. Meanwhile, a number of low-speed crashes nearly took place because rubberneckers seemed more concerned about social media posts than safety, fire officials said.

The incident, according to a state police crash report, took place ay 6:10 p.m. Sunday.

A 2013 Ram 1500 pickup truck being driven by a 51-year-old Willington man was in the right lane of the westbound side of I-84 near Exit 65, according to a crash report. A 2014 BMW 535 with a 21-year-old Lowell, MA, man behind the wheel suddenly came toward the truck at a high rate of speed while passing other vehicles recklessly, according to a crash report.

The BMW hit the truck from behind as it slowed for traffic and the truck skidded across the highway and slammed into the center median, and rolled over on an embankment, according to a crash report.

The BMS also swerved into the median and sustained heavy front-end damage. The driver escaped injury, state police said.

The driver of the truck and a 17-year-old passenger suffered what state police termed minor injuries.

Vernon fire officials said cell phone hounds nearly made things worse.

"A friendly reminder that when passing by an emergency scene please slow down to keep our responders safe. The sheer number of drivers that passed this incident and were seen using their phones to take pictures and videos of the vehicles almost caused multiple secondary accidents," fire officials said. "Help us keep you safe by keeping your eyes on the road."