Civilian Killed As Car Collides With Vernon Police SUV On Route 30

VERNON, CT — A Vernon police cruiser and civilian vehicle collided on Route 30 Sunday evening as the cop car was rushing to the aid of other officers, leaving one dead, both cars severely damaged and other occupants hurt.

The crash took place shortly before 7 p.m. just east of the Bolton Road intersection, adjacent to the Vernon Police Department headquarters. A 32-year-old woman who was a passenger in the civilian car was killed and the driver, a man in his 30s, was seriously injured and was taken to Hartford Hospital by ambulance, Vernon Police Department spokesman Lt. Rob Marra said.

A young child was also in the car and was taken to Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Marra said. The child's injuries did not appear to be as severe as the other occupants in the car, he added. The officer was "shaken up" but those injuries also did not appear to be as serious as those from the civilian car, Marra said.

The police cruiser was on Route 30 with lights and siren on and was passing through the intersection en route to help "officers in dire need of assistance" at the scene of a protective order violation on the 1100 block of Route 30, Marra said.

At the crash scene, the police cruiser clearly sustained heavy front-end damage. The civilian car was unrecognizable. It was sitting in a yard in a mangled heap and part of it was hanging from an evergreen tree.

Marra said he expected investigators to be at the scene well into the night.

Traffic was being diverted away from the scene.

Police said anyone who may have witnessed the crash can call them at 860-872-9126.