A driver died in a truck wreck caused by an intoxicated driver in Connecticut. The truck was carrying raw sewage when it was sideswiped by the inebriated driver. The truck hit the guardrail, flipped over, hit a tree and a light pole, and caught fire. Sewage was spilled everywhere, causing the highway to close for hours. The truck driver died in the collision.
DUI Accident Kills One
The crash happened just before 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 28, 2016, on Interstate 95 in Westport, Connecticut.
Sixty-four-year-old Thomas Patrick Reynolds was driving a tanker truck filled with 6,500 gallons of raw sewage while on the job for his employer, H.I. Stone & Son of Southbury. Reynolds was driving in the right lane of the highway, one of the busiest, oldest, and longest roadways in the U.S. interstate system. Reynolds’ tanker truck was sideswiped by a Mercedes E350, driven by 35-year-old Ramses Taylor Rival, when he veered out of the center lane.
The collision, together with the weight and volatility of the liquid in the tanker, caused Reynolds to lose control of his truck. He hit the guardrail of the highway, which made the tanker flip onto its side. The truck then skidded off the highway, hit a light pole and a tree, and burst into flames from the diesel fuel inside.
During the impacts, the tanker truck ruptured, causing sewage to gush out of the vehicle and onto the roadway. All of the southbound lanes of the highway were closed for 11 hours. The sewage made it into the highway catchbasins, causing a significant environmental hazard to the local area that the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Emergency Response Unit spent all night dealing with.
Reynolds was pronounced dead at the scene. His truck was so heavily damaged that it took emergency crews until 3 a.m. to extricate him from his vehicle.
Rival, the driver of the Mercedes that sideswiped the tanker truck, was found and charged with driving under the influence (DUI) in connection with the fatal crash. He has a history of drug and driving infractions in his past, including a 2001 conviction for possession with an intent to sell cocaine, and a recent ticket for driving while using his cell phone, which is illegal in Connecticut.
Cobb County Truck Accident Attorney Joel Williams
A lot of things happened in this terrible truck accident in Connecticut. There was an intoxicated driver who caused the crash, an extended highway closure of one of the biggest highways in the country, and an environmental disaster that could have lasting repercussions for years if it is found that it was not handled properly.
All of these things can make it easy to overlook the most terrible thing of all: That the truck driver lost his life in a car accident. Not only did he pass away, but now the family that was counting on him is put in a difficult financial plight. They deserve to be compensated for their loss of a loved one. This is where having a personal injury attorney like Joel Williams is crucial. Contact his law office if you have also lost a loved one in a car accident.
