Waterbury,CT : Police identify trooper killed in Wolcott crash on February, Sunday 4th 2018

An off-duty state police trooper died Sunday of injuries suffered in a head-on two-car collision Saturday, police said.

Trooper Danielle Miller, a 27-year-old Wolcott resident who was assigned to Troop L in Litchfield, was driving a Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser when it collided with a 2004 Ford pickup on Wolcott Road at 8:48 p.m. Saturday. Police identified the driver of the pickup as Aric Rivkin, 30, also of Wolcott.

Wolcott police said Miller and Rivkin, who were both alone in their vehicles, were taken to hospitals. Police said Rivkin was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening and released early Sunday morning.

The crash, which occurred near Tosun Road, is being investigated by the Regional Naugatuck Valley Collision Investigation Team, which consists of officers from the Wolcott, Cheshire, Naugatuck, Middlebury and Watertown police departments. Naugatuck police Lt. Bryan Cammarata, who joined Wolcott Police Chief Edward Stephens in briefing reporters Sunday afternoon, is the commander of that investigation team.

“Right now, we’re processing all the evidence that we found on scene,” Cammarata said. “It’s just way premature for us to be speculating one way or the other. We want to get as much information as we can.”

Responding officers and firefighters used the Jaws of Life to cut open the roof of Miller’s cruiser to extricate her from the vehicle, Stephens said.

Stephens said he believed Miller was off-duty, in plain clothes, when the accident occurred around the corner from her home.

Near the crash site, the posted speed limit is 40 miles per hour. When asked about road conditions, Stephens said it didn’t appear that the snow or ice was a factor, but cold temperatures could have caused the road surface “to be very cold, which sometimes can become a factor when it comes to vehicle tires and friction on the roadway.”

Although there is a curve along the road near where the accident occurred, that turn is not very sharp, Stephens said.

Police said it appeared both vehicles were traveling in opposite directions; Miller’s cruiser was northbound, while Rivkin appeared to be traveling south.

Source :
Police identify trooper killed in Wolcott crash