Crime & Safety

Object Kills Woman Driving on I95

Sara Betancourt was killed while driving soutbound on I95.

State police on Wednesday identified a thick, threaded bolt (see photos) as the object that crashed through the windshield of an SUV traveling on Interstate 95 last week, .

According to a statement from Connecticut State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance, the department’s spokesperson, the metal object is 1 inch in diameter, approximately 3.5 inches long with a 2.25 inch washer welded to it, along with a black metal flange. 

“The item is believed to be a locking pin or what is commonly referred to as a ‘Dog’s ear’ from a 1-ton (mason) dump truck,” Vance said in a press release. “This pin may have been defective or malfunctioned, causing it to break away from the vehicle.”

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The incident remains under investigation, Vance said said. Investigators believe that the metal object came from a vehicle that was traveling northbound, based on its path of entry, he said.

Police identified the victim in the incident as 40-year-old Sara Betancourt of 250 Northridge Road, Waterbury. She was in the front seat of a 2003 Ford Escape at the time of the accident, as the car traveled southbound in the left lane, one mile north of Exit 4. The incident was reported at 12:34 p.m. Betancourt was transported to Stamford Hospital and pronounced dead.

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An autopsy performed by the Chief State Medical Examiner's Office in Farmington revealed that Betancourt died of accidental cranial cerebral trauma.

The SUV was being driven by its owner, Elizabeth Martinez, 60, of 286 Oak Street, Waterbury. She stopped the vehicle on the Mianus River bridge.

State Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed this accident or knows the identity or whereabouts of the vehicle that may have lost this item is urged to contact the State Police in Bridgeport, Troop G at 203-696-2500.


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