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Fatal crash in Norfolk leads to brush fire

Fatal crash in Norfolk leads to brush fire

A fallen tree took down power lines, causing a brush fire along Route 44 in Norfolk Oct. 25.

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NORFOLK – A tree fell on a passing vehicle on Route 44 Friday, Oct. 25, at about 6:11 p.m., killing the driver and injuring a passenger.

Jon Barbagallo, public information officer for the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department, interviewed Saturday morning, Oct. 26, said a pickup truck was traveling east on Route 44 near the Norfolk/North Canaan line when a very large tree on the north side of the highway fell, hitting the truck and crushing the cab, and taking out utility lines.

The downed electric power lines then sparked two brush fires. Barbagallo said it took two hours to put out the fires.

“The flames were high and moving fast.”

Traffic on the busy highway was detoured soon after the incident. The road was reopened Saturday, Oct. 26 around noon, but utility crews were still working.

Several nearby fire departments responded to the call. Canaan Fire Company's Brian Allyn reported a team effort to access a second location to fight the brush fire. He said Laurelbrook Natural Resources brought a load of gravel to fill a ditch, allowing water tankers to drive to the other side of the blaze and put out the fire.

A water tanker fights the blaze from the other side of the fire.Photo by Brian Allyn

Patrick L. Sullivan
Senior Reporter
Patrick Sullivan has been a reporter for The Lakeville Journal since 2004, covering everything from town meetings to local characters and the outdoors. He grew up in Northern Virginia but spent summers on Mount Riga in Salisbury, giving him a lifelong connection to the Northwest Corner. A graduate of Denison University, Patrick is also the author of Tangled Lines, the newspapers’ popular fly-fishing column—making The Lakeville Journal, as far as anyone knows, the only newspaper in Connecticut with a regular fly-fishing columnist. He once received a fan letter from England, which he considers sufficient evidence that his work has achieved international acclaim.
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