Glastonbury Crash Victim Identified As Manchester Woman

GLASTONBURY, CT — Glastonbury police Wednesday identified the driver killed in a collision between a car and dump truck last Friday as a Manchester woman. She is being remembered as an accomplished tennis player and animal lover.

Christine Sawamura, 56, of Manchester, was killed in the crash, police said.

The collision took place at 10:36 a.m. on Keeney Street, between Old Reservoir Road and Woodfield Crossing, according to a police report.

Police said a sedan traveling north on Keeney St. suddenly crossed the center line and struck a
dump truck/trailer combination head-on.

The driver of the sedan — Sawamura — was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the truck was not injured.

In an obituary posted by Leete-Stevens Family Funeral Homes, Sawarma was an animal-lover who volunteered at an area rescue service and would often drive dogs to new homes in Connecticut and Massachusetts. She was also a cancer survivor.

She was a tennis player at Hartwick College and once participated in an exhibition doubles match with John McEnroe and Andre Agassi at the Pepsi Center in Albany. Services are scheduled for Saturday. Details are posted in her obituary.