Six killed in two wrong-way crashes that saw major roads in Connecticut closed

Both accidents took place in the early hours of Saturday morning, police say

Six killed in two wrong-way crashes in Connecticut, including four on I-84 in Hartford (NBCCT)

Six people died after two accidents involving wrong way drivers in Connecticut that shut down two major highways.

Authorities say that both accidents, one on I-91 in Meriden and the other on I-84 in Hartford, happened around 3am on Saturday.

In the Meriden accident, police say that the wrong way driver went south on the northbound side of the highway.

Connecticut State Police say that one car crashed into another, killing two people near the highway’s exit 18.

Officials say that four people died in the accident on I-84 near exit 51.

Both highways were closed by authorities and after they were cleared were reopened six hours later, state police said.

State police’s Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad, as well as the Department of Transportation, were on both scenes to investigate.

Connecticut State Sgt Dawn Pagan said wrong-way drivers were a problem all across the country

“It is a battle that is faced nationwide and unfortunately is not something new,” Sgt Pagan said, who added that police respond to them “swiftly as we fully recognize the imminent danger involved.”

Wrong-way crashes caused around 500 deaths a year nationwide between 2015 and 2018, according to a March 2021 study by the American Automobile Association.