Newtown Woman Killed

In I-84 Accident

By Andrew Gorosko

A local woman was killed Tuesday in a two-vehicle accident on eastbound Interstate 84, near the end of the Exit 11 on-ramp, after the sedan that she was driving struck a tree on the highway median.

Doris H. Botsford, 74, of 177 Brushy Hill Road, died in the accident, which remains under investigation, state police said.

A spokeswoman for the Chief State Medical Examiner’s office in Farmington said that the cause of the accidental death was multiple blunt force trauma. Coronary artery disease was a significant condition contributing to the death, the spokeswoman added.

State police said that motorist Cheryl A. Moyer, 35, of Greenwich was driving a 2002 Honda Odyssey minivan in the left lane of two travel lanes near the Exit 11 on-ramp about 11:03 am.

A 1996 Toyota Camry driven by Ms Botsford then entered I-84 from the on-ramp and drifted into the left travel lane, where it made contact with the moving Honda, state police said.

After the impact, both vehicles went off the left road shoulder and onto the highway median, striking trees there, according to Trooper William Flynn, who investigated the accident for state police.

The Toyota struck a tree head-on. The Honda’s side struck a tree.

Ms Botsford was pronounced dead at the scene, and her next of kin were soon notified, state police said.

Ms Moyer and her two child passengers, Kelly Moyer, 7, and Karolina Moyer, 3, both of Greenwich, all were transported by the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps to Danbury Hospital for treatment of injuries, state police said. All three were treated at the hospital and then released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Both the Toyota and the Honda were heavily damaged in the accident and were towed from the scene.

Following the crash, state police performed a complete accident reconstruction investigation, resulting in extensive travel delays on eastbound I-84, which lasted until midafternoon. Traffic on the highway backed up to Danbury.

The Sandy Hook and Newtown Hook & Ladder volunteer fire companies were dispatched to the accident that occurred in Sandy Hook.

After arriving at the crash, firefighters checked and treated those who were injured, said Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead.

After state police performed their accident investigation, firefighters extricated the deceased Ms Botsford from the Toyota, the fire chief said.

Firefighters parked their vehicles at the accident to block passing motorists’ view of the crash, he said. About ten Sandy Hook firefighters responded to the call. “Everybody did a professional job,” Chief Halstead said.

Ms Botsford was the wife of Charles W. “Chuck” Botsford. She was raised and educated in Newtown and was a graduate of Newtown High School, Class of 1949. She was the chief telephone operator at Fairfield Hills Hospital for many years until her retirement in 1986.

Ms Botsford was an avid motorcycle rider and was a member of the Hat City Riders motorcycle club.

Not long after state police had left the accident scene near Exit 11, another serious accident occurred about two miles to the east, on westbound I-84 in Southbury. That accident also caused extended travel delays.

In that crash at about 4:30 pm, an Ohio tractor-trailer truck driver, who was hauling a load of wire mesh on a flatbed trailer, drove onto the road shoulder and rolled over, dumping his cargo across both lanes of the highway.

The crash resulted in a four-hour traffic backup on westbound I-84. The crash occurred between the Ichabod Road and River Road overpasses. There were no injuries. The trucker was issued violations, state police said.