Victim Identified as Probe of Fatal Crash Continues

Update, 7/13: Edward Lawrence Funeral Home has released an obituary of Whitney Smith.

Original article: Darien Police have identified the victim of Sunday's morning fatal accident on Hollow Tree Ridge Road as Whitney Smith, 30, of Darien, an official said Monday.

Police announced the identification after consulting with the state's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, said Sgt. Jeremiah Marron. An autopsy was conducted of Smith's body Monday morning.

Smith died after her BMW left the roadway and crashed through two houses around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, according to police.

Investigators continued their work Monday, shutting off parts of Hollow Tree Ridge Rd. to conduct a survey the crash site. No cause has been determined yet.

Marron said that Smith—who was set to be married in September—had arrived at the impact site directly from her house. Smith's residence is located near Hollow Tree Ridge Rd., roughly half a mile north and significantly uphill from the area of the crash.

Smith attended the Kent School in Kent, Conn. and graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 2003.

Standing outside the two damaged houses Monday afternoon, Marron elaborated on the wreckage responders encountered when they first arrived at the scene Sunday morning.

"Initially what he found was a wheel and strut assembly just sitting there in the middle of the front yard. To me it looked like it could have been landing gear to an aircraft," Marron said.

In the darkness, investigators were at first unable to see the path of debris the BMW had left along the front and side yards of neighboring 126 Hollow Tree Ridge Rd.

"Even once they found the car, they don't know what happened," Marron said. "They're still thinking 'Did this thing somehow fall out of an airplane or something?'"

No witnesses to Smith's drive down Hollow Tree Ridge Rd. have come forward yet, Marron said. Investigators are reviewing security footage from nearby businesses to see if her vehicle was captured on camera, but Marron described this possibility as "a long shot."

With the help of firefighters, police are also examining the remnants of the vehicle for clues about what might have caused the accident, Marron said.

Correction: An earlier version of this article mistakenly said Smith was a graduate of Darien High School. In fact, she graduated from the Kent School in Kent, Conn. Patch regrets the error.