Darienite Killed As Car Careens Through Two Houses

Update, 10:30 p.m.: Eric and Deborah Hidy, owners of 122 Hollow Tree Ridge Road, told Patch they will be staying in a hotel for the time being. A structural engineer is scheduled to inspect the house Monday morning.

Update, 4:30 p.m.: The Darien Police Department released the following statement late this afternoon:

The Darien Police Accident Investigation Team is currently investigating a traffic collision that occurred on Hollow Tree Ridge Rd near Linden Ave. The collision took place at approximately 1:30 AM and involved a vehicle leaving the travel portion of the roadway and colliding with two residences and a tree. The female operator of the vehicle, a Darien resident, suffered severe injuries as a result and died a short time later at Stamford Hospital. The name of the victim is not being released pending the notification of family members.   

Due to the nature and severity of the incident, Hollow Tree Ridge Rd between Linden Ave and Hillside Ave was closed for 11 hours while investigators processed the scene. 

Preliminary investigation has determined that excessive speed was a factor in the collision. After the vehicle left the travel portion of the roadway it became airborne and struck and passed through a first floor bedroom of 126 Hollow Tree Ridge Rd. The vehicle continued in the air striking a tree and then penetrated the chimney and the exterior of the 122 Hollow Tree Ridge Rd. approximately 7 feet off of the ground. The vehicle came to final rest on its side in the kitchen portion of the second residence.

Recovery effort throughout the day was significantly hampered by the unstable structure from the severe damage that the 122 Hollow Tree Ridge Rd. sustained. The Noroton Heights Fire Department was instructed to demolish the remaining portion of the chimney due to the severe hazard it presented.

This investigation remains ongoing.  If you witnessed or have information regarding this incident, please contact the Darien Police Department at 203-662-5300.

Original article: A Darien resident was pronounced dead Sunday morning after the motorist's vehicle careened through the bedroom of one house on Hollow Tree Ridge Road and into the side of another.

The name of the victim, a woman, is being withheld pending notification of the entire family, said Sgt. Jeremiah Marron of the Darien Police Department.

According to Marron, the driver's BMW was traveling southbound on Hollow Tree Ridge around 1:30 a.m. when it crossed the double yellow line, struck the curb, and went airborne.

The vehicle then crashed through the bedroom of one house—where, fortunately, no one was home at the time—clipped a tree and entered a home at 122 Hollow Tree Ridge Road, where it came to rest in the kitchen area of the residence.

A family was home at the second residence at the time of the crash, Marron said, but no injuries were sustained. The car passed close to an occupant sleeping in the house at the time, however.

Police, who received a report of "an explosion" at the address, were initially unable to determine what had happened due to the limited light and significant damage. 

The wreckage—spread out across the houses and surrounding ground—was not immediately recognizable as coming from vehicle, according to Marron. The scene resembled that of a plane crash, police said.

Working around structurally unstable areas of the house, responders were able to extract the victim, who had sustained severe injuries. The driver was taken to Stamford Hospital and pronounced dead soon thereafter, Marron said.

After the extraction, a chimney at the residence was knocked down in a controlled fashion due to its unstable state, Marron said. 

Construction crews were on the scene Sunday morning, and Hollow Tree Ridge—closed near the accident during the investigation—was set to reopen by early afternoon. There was continuing concern about the structural stability of portions the two houses, however.

The mangled BMW was set to be removed from the property as of late morning.

There were was no immediate signs that alcohol was a factor in the crash, Marron said, but investigators were not ruling it out. Preliminary indications were that speed had played a factor.