A Connecticut man was charged with negligent homicide for causing a deadly crash that upended a fuel tanker on the Gold Star Bridge last year.
Reginald Collins, 59, turned himself in on Wednesday, Connecticut State Police said.
Collins was driving a 2006 Toyota Avalon that stopped on the bridge between New London and Groton on April 21, 2023, according to police. A fuel tanker driven by Wallace Fauquet struck Collins’ vehicle from behind, then rolled over and burst into flames.
Fauquet was killed in the crash. Collins and a passenger in his vehicle suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Additionally, Collins was charged with operating an unregistered vehicle and driving without insurance. He was released following his arraignment Wednesday on a promise to appear at his next court date on June 4, the Hartford Courant reported.
According to Collins, around 10 a.m. on the day of the accident he had four tires put on his vehicle. All four tires were used, and he was testing them out by driving on Interstate 95, according to a warrant affidavit obtained by local CBS affiliate WFSB.
While driving on the bridge around 11:15 a.m., the front left tire blew out, and Collins pulled over and stopped the car in an acceleration lane, police said. Fauquet didn’t see Collins’ vehicle stopped on the highway until it was too late.
“The cause of this crash was that the operator of the Toyota Avalon created a traffic hazard by remaining stationary within the right acceleration lane and failing to move the vehicle out of the travel lane to a safe location,” Connecticut State Police wrote in the affidavit.
Investigators could not determine if there was any mechanical issue with the tanker truck because it was completely destroyed in the wreck and subsequent fire.
