Cement Truck Crashes into Vehicles, Through Wall, Fence: PD

WESTON, CT -- Police have reported a multi-vehicle accident involving a cement truck on Norfield Road, east of the Newtown Turnpike, on June 27

A 1995 Oshkosh Series S cement truck lost power at the top of a steep incline traveling eastbound on Norfield Road around 12:30 p.m., police reported. The cement truck struck the two trucks behind it, a 1999 Ford S350 Super Duty and a GMC 2001 Sierra K1500, and continued rolling down the hill in the westbound lane. It climbed up a curb and crashed through a stone wall and deer fence before coming to rest against a large tree on the property of 4 Norfield Road.

The driver of the cement truck, Joseph W. Rivera of Stratford, and the driver of the Ford, Ethan Morrow of Ansonia, were both employees of the Mohican Valley Concrete Corporation of Fairfield.

Rivera told police that he believed there was "a mechanical failure with the transmission and/or the braking system of the cement truck." Morrow disputed the claim, and told police that he believed Rivera "was attempting to shift the automatic transmission into a low gear to make it up the and hill and may have put the transmission into reverse or neutral," according to the police report.

Police called Modzelewski's Recovery & Heavy Hauling in Danbury to tow the cement truck up the hill to a safe location. A mechanic from Modzelewski's tested the cement trucks brakes and transmission, and found nothing wrong, according to police.

Due to the conflicting reports given by the Mohican Valley Concrete Corporation employees, Sgt. Daubert of the Weston PD made arrangements for an inspection to be performed on the cement truck, which was towed to Modzelewski's garage in Danbury.

Rivera was issued an infraction for operating a commercial vehicle without a license.

The Ford and the GMC Sierra both sustained heavy damage to the front of the vehicles but were able to be driven away without assistance.

On July 2, police received the results of the level one inspection, and reported that three of the eight brakes were out of adjustment but functioning. The DMV could find nothing mechanically wrong with the truck that would have led to or contributed to the accident.