Danbury First Responders Find Injured Driver After Early-Morning Crash

DANBURY, CT — An injured driver was found in the woods off Wooster Heights Road early Sunday after fleeing a heavily damaged car that had crashed into a tree, according to the Danbury Fire Department.

Fire, police and EMS units were dispatched at 4:56 a.m. to the area near Lee Farms, where crews found a car with extensive front-end damage but no occupants. Given the severity of the crash and the 33-degree temperature, officials said they believed anyone who had been inside the vehicle was likely hurt and at risk of hypothermia.

Firefighters began a coordinated line search across the hillside using thermal imaging cameras, while police searched nearby roads. Within about 10 minutes, Capt. Bart McCleary detected a heat source roughly 700 feet from the vehicle and located the injured driver in a brush-covered area, officials said.

Emergency crews reached the motorist, removed the person from the wooded area and transferred the patient to an ambulance for transport to a hospital. The department said the quick search likely prevented a more serious outcome.

Fire officials noted that crews train regularly in outdoor and trail search techniques and used handheld thermal imaging devices to differentiate heat signatures in the cold early-morning conditions.

The Danbury Police Department is investigating the cause of the crash.