Victim identified; eyewitnesses sought

#MiddleburyCT #Police #Accident #Fatality #MVFD

This USPS vehicle is one of three vehicles involved in an accident on Straits Turnpike December 31, 2024. A Cadillac Escalade that caught fire in the accident is hidden by smoke.  (Middlebury Police Department photo)

Middlebury Police Chief Pat Deely said the driver who died in a three-vehicle accident near 1924 Straits Turnpike on December 31 was Joanne Carosella, 81, of Watertown. Middlebury Police Officer Guerrera asked anyone who saw the accident Tuesday shortly before 11 a.m. to contact Officer Terzigni at 203-577-4028 as eyewitnesses are needed.

The accident reconstruction team determined Carosella was northbound on Straits Turnpike when her vehicle clipped the back of a U.S. Postal Service vehicle being used to deliver mail. The impact with the Postal Service vehicle caused Carosella’s car to flip onto its roof and slide into a southbound Cadillac Escalade, which caught fire. The two occupants of the Escalade immediately exited the vehicle.

Guerrera said the first person on the scene cut Carosella’s seat belt and tried to open the door. He was joined by Middlebury resident Joe Bernardi, who is a member of the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department. The two also were unable to open the door, and it wasn’t possible to remove the victim through the window.

Recognizing the fire danger to Carosella’s vehicle, Bernardi said he retrieved a heavy-duty ratchet strap from his vehicle and used it to pull Carosella’s vehicle a safe distance from the Escalade. He said small fires on her vehicle were extinguished by neighbors who had quickly come to the scene and were doing what they could to help. Guerrera, one of three officers who responded to the scene, also helped with the small fires. Bernardi said the fire in the Escalade was too large to be extinguished with fire extinguishers.

Two of the three operators and one occupant were transported to Waterbury Hospital, where Carosella succumbed to her injuries. Guerrera said the mail carrier was not injured. He also said none of those involved in the accident were from Middlebury. Route 63 was closed from shortly after 11 a.m. to just before 3 p.m.