Tower Down - 05.21.22 (CT) "Updated 04.06.23"

[TowForce]

Tow Truck Driver Dies After Being Struck by Car on I-91 North: Officials

 

A tow truck driver has died after a vehicle they were assisting on the side of I-91 North in North Haven was struck by an oncoming car, according to the North Haven Fire Department.

 

According to officials the male tow truck driver was assisting another vehicle near exits 10 and 11, when it was struck by an oncoming car. CPR was administered at the scene.

 

North Haven officials said the vehicle fled the area, and it was later located in Wallingford.

 

Part of the highway remained closed following the accident and has since reopened, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

 

No information on any arrests have been given.

 

Resource Link

 

Updated 05.22.22:

 

Tow truck driver gets hit, dies while giving road side assistance

 

NORTH HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) – An employee of a road side assistance tow truck company died while helping a driver in distress, according to the North Haven Fire Department.

 

The accident happened Saturday night around 7 p.m., according to fire officials. The tow truck driver had pulled over to provide help on Interstate 91 near exits 10 and 11.

 

He was then hit by another car.

 

The North Haven Police Department and Connecticut State Police have not indicated if an arrest has been made.

The tow truck company is planning on creating a memorial at the accident site, according to another employee. They also intend on returning his truck home as a way to pay respect.

 

His co-workers are asking people to respect the “Move Over” Law, which is enforced in all 50 states. This law instructs drivers to move over to another lane if an emergency vehicle is pulled over and providing aid. Tow trucks giving road side assistance fall under this category.

 

Connecticut State Police urge people to follow this legislation. News 8 talked to Connecticut Trooper Cash, who was nearly hit as he was issuing a citation. He provided video evidence of the incident. The footage shows a close call that could have turned deadly because the person did not move over.

 

Resource Link

 

Christopher Russell of Manchester, Connecticut

 

 

 

 

   

[Steve Catlett]

My prayers to the family I’m very sorry to hear another one of our Towing family was  killed doing his job because a person chose not to obey the law and then left him on the side of the road like a dying animal just such a tragedy

[G F S]

Our Condolences to the Friends, Family and Co-Workers. Such a sad loss and another hit to the industry which continues to lose Tow Truck Operators to Roadside Dangers. This is a problem with our company hiring and retaining drivers. PTSD seems to show up in many ways and even though we try to prepare a new hire for everything we deal with, we find it just is not enough. Chris, you will be in our thought's!

And I seem to recall many condolences to these posts at one time. That's missing, even though I see names I know logging in...

[Micharl R.]

VERY SAD!

[mooresbp]

Our thoughts and prayers

[MA Rob]

So sad. We drive through that area all of the time. I went right by it the next day not even aware of the tragedy that had occurred.

 

Rob

 

[yoBdaBenO]

Our thoughts & prayers, there are far too many and one too many losing their lives to what would be murders in reality.

[TowZone]

 

[TowForce]

Arrest made nearly 1 year after tow truck driver fatally hit by DUI driver in North Haven

 

A Cromwell man is facing several charges, including manslaughter in connection with the death of a tow truck driver.

 

The tow truck operator, 38-year-old Christopher Russell, was struck and killed by a vehicle on Interstate 91 in North Haven in May 2022. 

 

State police were called to the crash around 6:30 p.m. that evening, with initial reports saying that the vehicle that struck Russell by Exit 10 had continued driving on the highway before "becoming disabled" near Exit 14. 

 

The trooper responding to the Exit 10 area saw a Mazda and a tow truck parked on the highway's right shoulder. The Mazda had damage to its rear bumper and trunk as well as a broken rear windshield. 

 

The tow truck was parked behind the Mazda and had no visible damage, police had said. 

 

Russel was seen lying in the road between the Mazda and the tow truck. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

 

Another trooper responded to the disabled vehicle located at the Exit 14 scene in Wallingford. 

 

There, troopers found a red Nissan Rogue with visible damage to its entire driver's side as well as its right front quarter panel. 

 

The trooper found the driver, then 54-year-old Luis Resto, unresponsive behind the wheel. Wallingford EMS first responders suspected Resto of being under the influence of narcotics and provided treatment at the scene before he was taken to Midstate Medical Center for further evaluation. 

 

State police went on to interview the driver of the Mazda that was alongside the highway that Russell responded to. 

 

Investigators were told that the driver had noticed her right front tire had flattened as she was driving north on the highway just after 6 p.m. She pulled over just before Exit 11 and put on her hazard lights, and pulled tools from her trunk. 

 

Russell then pulled up and parked on the shoulder behind her. Russell had reportedly asked if she needed help with the tire change. The driver reported seeing the lights on the tow truck illuminated as Russell helped with the tire.

 

After the tire change, Russell returned to the truck and the driver returned to her Mazda. As she was about to pull away, something impacted the back of her car and she saw a red-colored vehicle, believed to be Resto's Nissan, continuing to drive north. 

 

The Mazda's driver got out of her car and saw damage to her car's windshield and trunk before seeing Russell lying on the ground, unresponsive and without a pulse. 

The driver began performing CPR as she called 911.

 

At the hospital, investigators interviewed Resto, who said he had just left a friend's house in New Haven and bought a small bag of heroin. According to state police, Resto said he "consumed" the bag before heading onto I-91. Resto claimed he didn't remember getting into a crash and only remembered paramedics putting him onto a stretcher. 

 

Resto allowed investigators to search his car but reportedly declined an examination by a Drug Recognition Expert, state police said. 

 

Investigators at that point concluded that Russell had been walking back to his truck on its driver's side and that, at the same time, Resto began drifting over from the right lane into the shoulder, where he struck Russell. Resto then reportedly drove another five miles before crashing into the wire guardrail by Exit 14.

 

Two days after the crash, a witness met with investigators and claimed to have dashcam footage of the crash. 

 

The witness told investigators that they were driving in the right lane and saw Russell's tow truck with flashing yellow lights. They then reportedly saw Resto's Nissan crash five to six times into the metal guardrail near Exit 12 and that traffic was slowing down due to Resto's erratic driving. 

 

The witness then said that the Nissan struck the metal guardrail between exits 12 and 13 before they lost sight of the vehicle and saw it hit the guardrail along the left side of the road and come to a stop on the left shoulder by Exit 14. 

 

Stopping their vehicle and approaching the Nissan, the witness saw a man in the driver's seat who they described as "gasping for air," according to state police. Resto was also "incoherent," the witness reported. A "vape-like" object was also reportedly in Resto's hand. 

 

After learning of the fatal collision on the news and reviewing their camera footage, the witness contacted the police. 

 

State police confirmed the witness' account of what happened through their dashcam footage which showed the erratic manner in which Resto was driving. It also captured Russell's tow truck, and the Mazda parked along the shoulder. 

 

The next day, after speaking with the witness, detectives with the Central District Major Crime Squad examined and collected evidence from inside Resto's SUV. The various bits of evidence included a wax paper fold that contained a white, powdery substance.

 

Several months later, in January of this year, the Officer of the Chief Medical Examiner certified that Russell's cause of death indicated a "blunt impact injury of head, torso, and extremities" and labeled the cause of death an "accident."

 

On March 21, investigators were told that the white, powdery substance tested positive for fentanyl and xylazine. On the same day, evidence collected from the Nissan's passenger side front fender concluded that it was a "human hair fragment" and "other trace material."

 

State police said that based on the evidence, they concluded that Resto had failed to drive in the confines of the right lane on I-91 north and that Resto was improperly driving in the acceleration lane when he struck Russell. 

 

After crashing into Russell, the Nissan crept further into the right shoulder and crashed into the back of the Mazda before Resto continued driving. 

 

A warrant was applied for Resto's arrest on March 30. 

 

On April 3, just shy of one year following the crash, Resto turned himself into Troop I after learning of the warrant, state police said. 

 

Resto was charged with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, first-degree reckless endangerment, misconduct with a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance (second offense), driving a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs/alcohol, evading responsibility resulting in death, failing to maintain a proper lane, and illegal operation - failing to move over for an emergency vehicle. 

 

Resto could not post a court-set $50,000 bond and was taken to the New Haven Correctional Center. He was seen in court on Tuesday. 

 

RESOURCE LINK I

 

RESOURCE LINK II

 

                              Luis Resto

[TowForce]