Firefighters Extricate Motorist Trapped In Flipped Auto

By Andrew Gorosko

A local man was in fair condition as a patient in Danbury Hospital midday Wednesday, recovering from injuries he received Monday morning when the sedan that he was driving on Wasserman Way left the road, flipped over and skidded 85 feet on its roof, coming to rest near a swamp, where firefighters spent about 25 minutes working to free him from the wreckage.

Francis P. Pitrone, 82, of 8 Birch Rise Drive was listed in fair condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. A passenger in the sedan, Dustin Conley, 35, of 57 Taunton Lake Road, was treated for injuries at the hospital emergency room and then released. Both Pitrone and Conley received cuts in the accident, police said.

Police said Pitrone was driving a 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier eastward on Wasserman Way in a light rain at about 8:39 am, when Pitrone lost control of the auto while attempting to negotiate a curve in the road. The Chevrolet struck some curbing on the right side of the road and then collided with metal flex-beam guardrailing. That impact caused the auto to flip over onto its roof. The vehicle’s forward momentum caused it to slide across about 85 feet of turf while it was upside-down, causing its roof to collapse.

When the auto came to rest near the swamp, Conley was able to get out of the vehicle, but Pitrone was trapped inside. The inverted vehicle had heavy roof damage, requiring firefighters to perform a complex extrication of Pitrone. Police said Pitrone was traveling too fast for conditions when the accident occurred.

Newtown Hook & Ladder and Sandy Hook firefighters were dispatched to the accident at 8:39 am. Some Botsford and Hawleyville firefighters also responded to the scene on their own initiative. About 25 firefighters went to the accident. Two ambulance crews and two paramedics also responded.

Hook & Ladder Fire Chief Ray Corbo was incident commander.

Firefighters surrounded the upside-down auto and methodically worked to free Pitrone from the wreckage.

When the Chevrolet crashed into the metal guardrail, the impact apparently sliced open the vehicle’s fuel tank, causing some gasoline to spill out of the auto, said Chief Corbo. The extent of the fuel spill was limited because the vehicle came to rest upside-down, he said.

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) was notified of the fuel spill, he said.

The accident occurred on the section of Wasserman Way lying about halfway between the Fairfield Hills water supply’s pumphouse and the intersection of Wasserman Way and Nunnawauk Road. The area is within the town’s environmentally sensitive Aquifer Protection District, which lies above the Pootatuck Aquifer, an underground reservoir that is the source of two pubic drinking water supplies.

Concerned about the possibility of a flash explosion occurring due to gasoline vapors leaking from the ruptured fuel tank, firefighters stood by with charged hoses trained on the wreckage in the event that the gasoline vapors ignited and exploded, Chief Corbo said.

After Pitrone was extricated, the auto’s fuel tank was pumped dry before the wreck was righted and removed from the scene.

Firefighters stayed on the scene until almost noon, when the gasoline spill cleanup was complete.

Of the incident, Chief Corbo said, “It went well. It was a good group effort among multiple [fire] companies. It went pretty smoothly.”