Freezing Rain Causes Rash of Crashes

By Andrew Gorosko

Slippery road conditions caused by freezing rain Wednesday morning resulted in about ten motor vehicle accidents in town, one of which involved a school bus on Westwood Terrace, and another involving a fire truck on Glen Road.

Neither of those accidents resulted in injuries, authorities said.

Police said school bus driver Lereine M. Frampton, 45, of 6 Pebble Road was transporting eight high-school-age students on Westwood Terrace at about 8:18 am, when the bus collided with a 1991 Saab 900 driven by motorist Clifford W. Kraich, 48, of 17 Sawmill Ridge Road. The start of school had been delayed by 90 minutes due to icy conditions.

Police said the accident is under investigation.

Also, at about 6:49 am, the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company’s pumper truck No. 441 was headed northward on Glen Road on a mutual aid call to assist Southbury firefighters, who were handling a major hazardous materials accident on Interstate 84.

After rounding a curve south of Glen Road’s intersection with Cherry Street, the fire truck’s driver encountered a motorist who was sliding on the ice, so the fire truck driver applied the brakes to avoid a collision. But the truck went into a skid on the icy road and struck some guardrailing along the southbound road shoulder, according to Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead.

The fire truck came to rest perpendicularly across Glen Road, resulting in police closing the road. The fire truck, which received a damaged rear step in the collision, was towed away.