A 33-year-old Stratford man died after crashing into a tree in the woods along Route 8 south in Derby early Saturday morning.
State police were checking on a report of a tree in the travel lane on the state highway near exit 17 when they discovered a 2013 Chevy Silverado pickup truck off the right side of the road against a large tree. The crash happened at about 2:31 a.m.
Driver Anthony Delbene, 33, of Stratford, was traveling in the southbound direction in the right lane when he veered off the highway, struck a metal guard rail and continued about 200 feet into the woods until his car came to rest against a large tree.
Delbene was found unresponsive in the car and pronounced dead at the scene. Crews had to extricate him from the vehicle.
His pickup truck was heavily damaged on the front end, inside and on the undercarriage. Tracey's Towing removed the car from the scene.
The Department of Transportation responded to help with traffic control and an accident reconstruction team investigated.
The right lane of Route 8 south was closed for several hours. The truck was towed from the scene.
Local
The crash remains under investigation.
