A 20-year-old Bridgeport man was killed in a crash on Interstate 95 north in Fairfield early Tuesday morning that closed the highway for several hours.
Police said Demonte Anozine, 20, of Bridgeport, was sitting in the front passenger seat of a Mazda Protege that sideswiped another vehicle, went off the road and hit several trees. He was thrown from the car and pronounced dead at the scene, according to a news release from state police.
Emergency medical responders tried to revive him, but couldn't resuscitate him, officials said.
The crash happened on I-95 North near exit 23 and was reported at 3:07 a.m.
The driver of the car Anozine was in had to be extricated and suffered minor injuries, according to state police. The other passenger was taken to Bridgeport Hospital to be treated for injuries that are possibly serious.
“Our firefighters and the medics from AMR worked together to provide exceptional emergency medical care to the victims and to rapidly extricate them from a very heavily damaged vehicle," Assistant Fairfield Fire Chief George Gomola said in a statement. "The loss of life which occurred prior to our arrival is tragic, and our thoughts and prayers are extended to the victim and his family.”
The highway was shut down on the northbound side between exits 22 and 23 for the early-morning commute, but it has since reopened.
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Police searched the woods with a flashlight, took photographs and are working on collecting evidence.
An accident reconstruction team also responded and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Drivers were detoured onto the Merritt Parkway or Route 1 to avoid it.
Traffic still came to a stop in some places hours after the crash, causing delays on many people's drives to work.
"I'm a chef at university of Bridgeport and I have a whole crew there waiting for me so not good but we’ll make the best of it," Ken Scalzo said.
The back roads were also affected.
"Just to get out of my road this morning was heavy traffic to get out," Lorenzo Caiati, of Fairfield, said.
Black Rock Turnpike is also closed in Fairfield at Burroughs Road to Tunxis Hill due to another serious two-car crash.
