Conn. Four people die in a wrong-way accident on Merritt Parkway

A two-way collision on the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut killed four people early Thursday morning and closed one side of the highway for nearly seven hours, authorities said.

State police were notified of a serious two-vehicle crash in Stratford around 1:43 a.m., NBC Connecticut reported.

The driver of a Honda CRV was traveling north in the southbound lane of the Parkway, also known as Route 15, when he collided head-on with a Chrysler Town & Country minivan.

The driver of the minivan, 55-year-old Steven Rowland, and two passengers in the vehicle, 80-year-old Thomas Lucian Vitale and 81-year-old Olga Vitale, were pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

All three victims were from Easton, about 15 miles northwest of Stratford.

The driver of the Honda was also killed. The car with Massachusetts plates was “involved in a head-on collision and burst into flames,” according to a summary of the accident provided by state police.

The identity of the driver has yet to undergo an autopsy due to the extent of the injuries, the coroner’s office said.

Authorities said a separate incident was also reported early Thursday morning. A police officer on scene crashed into a car that had stopped in the middle of the road with its lights off.

Initial reports indicate that the driver of this vehicle had stopped to assist the victims of the oncoming accident. The state trooper suffered minor injuries, police said.

The southbound lanes of Merritt Parkway between exits 53 and 52 remained closed until 8:30 a.m

With News Wire Services