APRIL 2, 2015
FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT
A garbage truck driver is dead after hitting the Kings
Highway overpass on Interstate 95 northbound in Fairfield this morning,
according to state police.
John Collett, 32, of Wallingford, was trapped in the truck
cab, unresponsive, when crews from the Fairfield Fire Department arrived at the
scene near exit 23 around 10 a.m.
Police Collett, a driver for Northford waste company John's
Refuse & Recycling, had just dropped off a dumpster at the Fairfield
rest area and got back on the highway with the truck's lifting arms still
raised.
The garbage truck rolled over onto its left side and hit a
metal guardrail, which pierced the truck cab and impaled Collett, according to
police.
Several crews used heavy equipment to remove the roof of the
truck, cutting back the guardrail to get to Collett. An ambulance brought him
to Bridgeport Hospital, where he died, police said.
Asst. Chief George Gomola, the incident commander, said in a
statement that the steel guard rail was wrapped around inside the vehicle.
Officials from the state Department of Transportation
reported significant damage to the webbing of the overpass.
Crews from the state Department of Transportation and the
state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded to the crash.
Firefighters left the scene at 12:40 p.m.
Connecticut State Police are investigating the cause of the
crash, whether the driver was impaired, or texting/phone, etc.