Tractor-Trailer Going Slower Than Traffic in Fatal Trooper Crash

A state trooper died in the line of duty after a collision with a tractor-trailer on Interstate 84 in Tolland on Thursday afternoon.

Trooper First Class Kevin Miller's cruiser and a tractor-trailer collided near exit 68 eastbound just after 12:30 p.m. 

A police report released late on Thursday night said the tractor-trailer was traveling eastbound in the right lane at a slower speed than the flow of traffic. Miller was also traveling eastbound in the right lane when he collided into the rear of the tractor-trailer.

The 49-year-old trooper died from his injuries and the driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured, the report said. 

The office of the chief medical examiner determined that Miller died of blunt-impact injury of the head, torso and extremities with fractures and visceral injuries. 

Miller, who was a resident of Coventry, served with the Connecticut State Police for 19 years and was assigned to Troop C in Tolland. He had previously served for Troop K in Colchester and Troop E in Montville.

Interstate 84 was shut down at exit 67 in Vernon but reopened around 9 p.m. on Thursday.