STRATFORD, Conn — Four people are dead after a wrong-way crash on Route 15 in Stratford early Thursday morning.
Around 1:45 a.m., state police received several reports of wrong-way drivers on the southbound side of the highway in the area of Exit 52.
Before troopers could respond, Troop G dispatch was told that the vehicle, a Honda CRV, had crashed head-on into another vehicle and was engulfed in flames.
State police said that a Chrysler Town and Country was traveling south in the right lane at the time when the Honda, driving northbound in the southbound lanes, crashed into it.
The Honda erupted into flames, and the driver of the Chrysler, along with its two passengers, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Honda was also pronounced dead, but state police said that due to the extent of the driver's injuries, identification is pending on an autopsy.
Killed in the crash were 65-year-old Steven Rowland, 81-year-old Olga Vitale, and 80-year-old Thomas Vitale, all from Easton.
The crash closed Route 15 South for around seven hours.
State police said that there was a separate crash that also happened while troopers responded to the crash. According to officials, a passerby stopped their vehicle in the roadway to try and help those in the first crash. Police said the stopped vehicle was in the left lane with no lights on when a trooper crashed into it.
Police said the trooper sustained minor injuries. No one was in the parked vehicle at the time of the second crash.
Officials are investigating the fatal crash and anyone with information is asked to call Troop G at 203-696-2500.
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Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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