Driver charged with negligent homicide in fiery crash that shut down Connecticut highway bridge
A man accused of causing a fiery crash that shut down a major Connecticut highway bridge and killed a fuel delivery truck driver has been charged with negligent homicide, police said Thursday.
State police said Reginald Collins, 59, turned himself in Wednesday after learning that authorities had issued an arrest warrant for him related to the April 2023 crash on Interstate 95, a major artery between New York and Boston. His lawyer denied the allegations and said they came as a surprise.
State police said Thursday that Collins was driving his car on the southbound side of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge between New London and Groton when he blew out a tire, swerved and stopped in the right lane instead of pulling onto the right shoulder.
A fuel delivery truck then crashed into Collins’ car, flipped over onto its right side and caught fire, state police said. The 42-year-old truck driver, Wallace Fauquet III, of Stonington, was killed. Collins was knocked unconscious, and he and a passenger in his car were pulled to safety by good Samaritans as the flames approached the vehicle.