A state police cruiser was involved in a crash on Interstate 91 northbound in Hartford Friday night while transporting a prisoner.

The crash happened near exit 33 for Jennings Road in Hartford at about 9:30 p.m and according to state police, a trooper from Troop K in Colchester was transporting prisoner Chad L. Nadeau, 24, to the Hartford Correctional Center when the prisoner freed himself from handcuffs, assaulted the state trooper driving and forced the vehicle to crash into the center median on the highway.  Nadeau, who had been arrested after an incident in Andover, Connecticut, fled from the vehicle on foot into a wooded area near the crash site and was soon apprehended by Hartford police

State police said the trooper and Nadeau sustained only minor injuries from the crash.

In addition to the charges from Nadeau was facing, he now also faces new charges of escape, assaulting a police officer and interfering with an investigation.

Nadeau was held in police custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 8.

According to the Department of Transportation, two lanes of the highway were blocked off between exits 33 and 32a following the accident, and traffic was delayed in the area.

On Thursday, a serious accident involving a car and a motorcycle on I-84 near Exit 44 closed the eastbound lanes of the highway for about three hours, backing up traffic several miles into Farmington.

State police said traffic came to an abrupt stop just before 4 p.m. and the motorcycle, driven by Mark Goodwin, 46, of Atkinson, New Hampshire, hit the side of a Toyota Corolla and a different Toyota Corolla hit Brenda Goodwin, 43, who was riding on the back of the motorcycle.

According to state police, Mark and Brenda Goodwin were transported to St. Francis Hospital, where Brenda was pronounced dead. Mark Goodwin’s injuries do not appear to be life-threatening.

The car that was involved in the crash fled the scene and police are currently looking for it and the driver.

Traffic backed up several miles through West Hartford. Vehicles initially were routed traffic off the highway at Exit 44, close to the accident, but later traffic was detoured off at Exit 43 as police investigated the crash.

This was the second fatal crash in the area in a little over two days leading some state lawmakers to look into what can be done to make the highway safer.

If you have been injured in a serious motorcycle  accident in Waterbury you may be entitled to monetary compensation. For an immediate and cost-free case evaluation and consultation please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

A state trooper, part of Troop H, had parked on the highway with his car illuminated  in order to help a pick-up truck which had stopped to try and retrieve his bed-liner, which had had fallen in the road. This was on 91N at exit 33. The trooper was trying to slow down traffic to assist him when a vehicle swerved around both the motorist and trooper and struck them.

The driver of the vehicle who hit them remained at the scene and is being cooperative with police. The accident is under investigation.

The trooper was taken to Hartford Hospital where he is said to have severe injuries including multiple fractures and a head injury. The driver of the pick up truck was also injured and is said to be in a stable condition

Parts of the road were initially closed in both directions between exits 32 and 33, but the right shoulder was opened in the northbound direction to allow some traffic through.

If you have been injured in a serious vehicle accident in Waterbury you may be entitled to monetary compensation. For an immediate and cost-free case evaluation and consultation please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

According to state police, 87-year-old Ellington resident Janet Peck has died after being struck by a car on Middle Road in Ellington while getting her mail on Tuesday evening.

Police said Peck, who lived at 87 Middle Road, was hit by a Ford Focus while getting her mail. She was taken by ambulance to Rockville General Hospital and from there was taken by air ambulance to Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford.

Sadly she died of her injuries the following day, just a few days before her 88^th birthday.

The driver, who was an 88-year-old man from Ellington, was not injured.

Police later said they did not believe he was intoxicated nor suffering from any medical condition, nor does it appear he was speeding.

They went on to say that the crash scene is around a curve on top of a hill so it was possible that he was not able to see her.

Following the accident, Middle Road was closed for several hours whilst the scene was investigated.

If you have been injured in a serious vehicle accident in Waterbury you may be entitled to monetary compensation. For an immediate and cost-free case evaluation and consultation please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

On Tuesday, 86-year-old  Robert Carroll of Bristol, appeared in Hartford Superior Court facing charges of manslaughter, nearly a year since a crash on Route 6 in Farmington, which resulted in the death of his wife, a pregnant mother and her unborn child.

Carroll was driving with his wife, Ruth, also aged 86, last October when he collided with a minivan being driven by Melinda Hart, a 27 year old pregnant mother from Bristol, with her three children in the back seat.

Police say that Carroll caused the accident by turning left into coming traffic.

Carroll broke his leg in the crash together with other serious injuries and still uses a walker to get around.

His wife Ruth Carroll was also critically injured and later died at the UConn Health Center in Farmington along with Hart, who was eight months pregnant at the time. Her unborn child did not survive but her three children; aged 4, 6 and 8 did and are currently living with the father of two of them.

Carroll was arrested on July 16, charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter, second-degree and third-degree assault, and first-degree reckless endangerment plus traffic offences.

He posted $10,000 bond and was released.

If you have been injured in a serious vehicle accident in Waterbury you may be entitled to monetary compensation. For an immediate and cost-free case evaluation and consultation please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

On Wednesday morning, a woman in her 20s lost control of her vehicle and hit a parked car which was then pushed into the bedroom of a home in High Street East Hartford.

First on the scene were lifeguards from the public pool across the street and they administered first aid until the emergency services arrived.

According to Sgt. Mike DeMaine of the East Hartford Police Department there was luckily no one in the house which was hit.

Witnesses said the car was traveling much too fast, in the region of 80 to 100 mph, and when the emergency services arrived they had to cut the driver out of the vehicle by removing the roof. The two passengers had tried to run away after the crash but one fell to the ground almost unconscious.

The driver and her two passengers, aged between 18 and 21 and all from East Hartford were all taken to hospital where they are in stable condition.

The building inspector was called to ensure that the damaged property was safe.

If you have been injured in a serious vehicle accident in Waterbury you may be entitled to monetary compensation. For an immediate and cost-free case evaluation and consultation please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

On Thursday morning, a car traveled across the I-84 and fell 30 feet down an embankment near eastbound Exit 68, injuring four people critically and causing jams for hours as the Interstate was closed.

Due to the closure of the highway, cars, trucks and buses had to detour onto local streets and eastbound traffic on the highway was backed up all the way into Vernon.

It appears that the driver lost control of the 2003 Pontiac Sunbird, which then crashed through the guard rail and plunged over the side. Three of the occupants were thrown out of the vehicle, with one remaining inside. Two were airlifted to Hartford hospital and two were taken there by ambulance.

The injured were Lynn Elgar, 41, Richard Elgar, 16, Jeffrey LaCourse, 50, and Rielly LaCourse, 22, all living in Massachusetts.  One of them was able to climb up to the highway and the emergency services located the others in the woods.

If you have been injured in a serious vehicle accident you may be entitled to monetary compensation. For an immediate and cost-free case evaluation and consultation please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help.

Drugged Driving

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has recently carried out a survey where they asked High School seniors if they had ever driven under the influence of marijuana. An astounding one in eight of the students admitted that they had.

This figure may now rise, with more states looking to move towards legalizing the drug, which may have the effect of making it more available and more teens could lose their lives due to driving while high.

In addition, researchers at Columbia University have shown that the number of deaths due to drugged driving is already on the increase, with the number of fatal accidents where the driver was subsequently found to be high having tripled over the last decade.

Not only are there more deaths, but it is young people who are dying.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration survey went on to show that of those deaths due to the driver being under the influence of marijuana, one in four of those drivers was under 25 at the time of death.

If you have been injured in a serious vehicle accident involving a drugged driver, or an automobile with defective parts, and would like to best possible attorney team to work on your case, please immediately call Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP –(888) 244-5480. We are here to help