1 Driver Dead, Another Arrested on DUI Charges After Tanker Truck Flips in Fiery Connecticut Crash

What to Know

  • A tanker truck flipped over and burst into flames on I-95 in Connecticut Wednesday evening, killing its driver and snarling traffic
  • The driver of a Mercedes involved in the accident was uninjured and arrested on DUI charges
  • The southbound lanes of I-95 near Westport were closed for hours

A truck driver was killed and a man was arrested on DUI charges after a Mercedes and a truck collided in Connecticut, leading to a fiery accident that shut down part of I-95 in Connecticut for hours Wednesday night. 

All lanes of I-95 reopened at 5:45 a.m. Thursday — nearly 11 hours after the deadly crash between exits 18 and 17 in the southbound lanes.

Connecticut State Police said that 64-year-old truck driver Thomas Reynolds was killed when his truck flipped after making contact with a Mercedes sedan driven by 35-year-old Ramses Rival. 

The 6:55 p.m. crash caused Reynolds' truck to veer to the right and strike a metal guardrail on the shoulder. The truck then flipped on its side and hit a light pole and a tree before bursting into flames, police said.

The Mercedes crashed into a concrete barrier of the Saugatuck River Bridge, but Rival was not injured. 

Reynolds was pronounced dead at the scene by Westport Fire personnel. 

Rival was arrested on DUI charges and later released on a $10,000 bond. 

A stretch of I-95 was shut down after the accident and the southbound lanes remained closed between exits 18 and 17 until shortly before 6 a.m. Thursday. 

Traffic was being diverted off of exit 18 and onto side roads to get around the scene. 

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