According to the authorities, a collision that occurred on the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut early on Thursday morning resulted in the deaths of four persons and caused the closure of one side of the roadway for about seven hours.
According to NBC Connecticut, at approximately 1:43 in the morning, state police were informed of a significant accident involving two vehicles that occurred in Stratford.
It was a head-on collision between a Chrysler Town & Country minivan and a Honda CRV that occurred as the driver of the Honda CRV was traveling north on the southbound lane of the parkway, which is also referred to as Route 15.
The authorities reported that the driver of the minivan, Steven Rowland, who was 55 years old, as well as two passengers in the vehicle, Thomas Lucian Vitale, who was 80 years old, and Olga Vitale, who was 81 years old, were pronounced dead at the scene of the tragic accident.
From Easton, which is approximately 15 miles to the northwest of Stratford, all three fatalities were from.
Additionally, the driver of the Honda was killed. According to a statement of the accident that was provided by state police, the vehicle, which was registered in Massachusetts, was “involved in a head-on collision and was engulfed in flames.”
Because of the severity of the person’s injuries, the medical examiner’s office has stated that the identification of the driver will not be determined until an autopsy has been performed.
According to the officials, there was also a separate incident that was reported early on Thursday morning. In the course of responding to the situation, a state trooper collided with a vehicle that was stopped in the middle of the road with its lights turned off.
According to the initial reports, the driver of that vehicle had stopped to assist the people who had been injured in the accident that occurred a wrong way. According to the authorities, the state policeman had very minor injuries.
Up until 8:30 in the morning, the Merritt Parkway southbound lanes between exits 53 and 52 remained closed.