Two women have died after a wrong-way crash on Interstate 84 East in Manchester on Saturday morning.
State police said 44-year-old Brenda Mendrell, of Hartford, was driving an Audi westbound in the eastbound lanes of the highway near exit 61 around 4:30 a.m.
As Mendrell was driving the wrong way, troopers said she collided head-on with a FedEx tractor-trailer truck in the right lane and then hit another truck in the center lane.
Mendrell and her passenger, identified as 44-year-old Jermyra Cortes, of Hartford, were both pronounced dead at the scene.
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The driver of the truck that was struck was taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries. The FedEx tractor-trailer truck driver was not injured.
The state Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection responded to the crash to address what firefighters said was a significant fuel spill.
The eastbound side of the highway was closed between exits 61 and 62 for hours. It has since fully reopened.
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The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper Michael Dean #416 at Troop H at (860) 534-1098 or by email at michael.dean@ct.gov.
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