1 Dead In Violent Multi-Vehicle Crash In East Hartford: Police

EAST HARTFORD, CT — A 39-year-old East Hartford man was killed in a violent, four-car pileup on Interstate 84 in East Hartford on Wednesday morning.

According to Connecticut State Police, who released an accident report Wednesday night, the victim was identified as John Henry Farrell, 39, of Burnside Avenue, East Hartford.

Police said he died after the vehicle he was driving — a 2016 Mazda CX-5 — overturned after it collided with another vehicle on I-84.

Ultimately, the accident involved four vehicles and resulted in I-84 West in East Hartford being closed for much of the day on Wednesday as police investigated what happened.

According to the accident report, the following occurred at about 7:46 a.m. Wednesday:

• A 2019 Ford F350 pickup truck, a 2013 Hyundai Elantra, Farrell's Mazda, and a2009 Honda CR-V were traveling west just before Exit 55 in East Hartford.

• "For an unknown reason," the Mazda and the Honda CR-V were involved in a collision, an incident that eventually forced Farrell's Mazda to rollover and end up in the center lane.

• The Honda then collided with the Ford pickup truck and Hyundai Elantra, the Honda ending up in an "uncontrolled rest" in the left/center lane.

The pickup and the Hyundai were able to pull over and stop in the center lane.

All three drivers and a passenger in the Honda CR-V reported no injuries, police said.

The driver of the Mazda, however, sustained "life-threatening injuries" and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

The accident is still under investigation.

Anyone with information or who may have dashcam footage of the vehicles is asked to contact Trooper Christopher Shayler of the state police at Troop H in Hartford at 860-534-1098 or christopher.shayler@ct.gov.

For information on the accident, click on this link.

From Dec. 17: 'Serious Crash Cleared In East Hartford: UPDATE'