4 Killed In Wrong-Way Crash On Route 15 In Stratford: PD

STRATFORD, CT — Four people were killed in a fiery wrong-way crash on the Merritt Parkway in Stratford early Thursday morning, Connecticut State Police said in an update.

State police received multiple reports around 1:45 a.m. of a wrong-way driver traveling on Route 15 South in the area of Exit 52 in Stratford.

Dispatch was then notified the vehicle was involved in a head-on collision, and was engulfed in flames, according to police.

Police said an investigation found that the driver of a 2010 Chrysler Town & Country Touring was traveling in the right lane of Route 15 South, while the driver of a 2016 Honda CRV was traveling northbound in the southbound travel lanes, resulting in the head-on collision.

The Honda became fully engulfed in flames, according to police.

Three Easton residents, who were the occupants of the Chrysler, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

They have been identified as 65-year-old Steven P. Rowland, the driver, and passengers Thomas L. Vitale, 80, and Olga Vitale, 81, police said.

The driver of the Honda was also killed in the crash. Due to the extent of their injuries, police said their identity is pending the results of an autopsy.

The Stratford Fire Department, Trumbull Fire Department, Stratford EMS, and the state Department of Transportation assisted at the scene, according to police.

Route 15 South was closed for approximately seven hours, police said.

The crash remains under investigation, and anyone with information is asked to contact Connecticut State Police Troop G at 203-696-2500.