Ambler Woman Killed In Connecticut Highway Crash

An Ambler woman has been identified as a victim of a fatal crash Wednesday on I-95 in Connecticut, State Police there announced. Iris Cooper, 70, died in the multi-vehicle crash that shut down a portion of I-95 north for more than seven hours.

Connecticut State Police said Cooper was a passenger in a Ford Mustang driven by Eleanor McCarthy, 71, of Guilford, Conn. when the car was rear-ended by a truck just before 2 p.m.. McCarthy was also killed.

"Tire marks at the scene indicate that [the dump truck] was braking heavily and was unable to stop prior to colliding with the rear of [the Mustang]," state police said in a statement.

McCarthy had been stopped in traffic behind a tractor trailer truck, police said. After the Mustang was struck by the dump truck, it spun around, slammed into the tractor trailer and burst into flames, according to state police.

State Police closed the northbound side of I-95 between exits 70 and 71 for more than seven hours Wednesday while investigating and clearing the scene.

Patch file photo