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.

Photo Provided

Fatal crash in Norfolk leads to brush fire

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

Latest News

East Canaan's CowPots to face the 'Sharks'

Amanda Freund of East Canaan will appear on the television show "Shark Tank" on April 4 to pitch CowPots.

Photo by Ruth Epstein

CANAAN — Fans of the television show “Shark Tank,” stay tuned. On Friday, April 4, Amanda Freund of East Canaan will be facing the panel, imploring members to invest in her unique product: cow poop.

Freund and her father Matthew Freund produce and market CowPots, which are made from the abundance of manure found on their dairy farm. Matthew Freund, realizing cows were producing more manure — 100 pounds per cow per day — than was needed for fertilizing fields for crops, came up with the concept of the pots. Years of trial-and-error experimentation finally resulted in success. In 2006 he began selling the biodegradable pots using 100% composted manure to local stores. Now the pots can be found in outlets across the country, as well as internationally.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hotchkiss lacrosse ices Kingswood Oxford 19-0

LAKEVILLE — The Hotchkiss School opened the girls varsity lacrosse season with a big win in the snow against Kingswood Oxford School.

The Bearcats won 19-0 in a decisive performance March 26. Twelve different players scored for Hotchkiss, led by Coco Sheronas with four goals.

Keep ReadingShow less
HVRHS releases second quarter honor roll

FALLS VILLAGE — Principal Ian Strever announces the second quarter marking period Honor Roll at Housatonic Valley Regional High School for the 2024-2025 school year.

Highest Honor Roll

Grade 9: Parker Beach (Cornwall), Mia Belter (Salisbury), Lucas Bryant (Cornwall), Addison Green (Kent), Eliana Lang (Salisbury), Alison McCarron (Kent), Katherine Money (Kent), Mira Norbet (Sharon), Abigail Perotti (North Canaan), Karmela Quinion (North Canaan), Owen Schnepf (Wassaic), Federico Vargas Tobon (Salisbury), Emery Wisell (Kent).

Keep ReadingShow less
Thomas Ditto

ANCRAMDALE — Thomas Ditto of Ancramdale, born Thomas David DeWitt Aug. 11, 1944 in New York City changing his surname to Ditto at marriage, passed peacefully on Pi Day, March 14, 2025. He was a husband, father, artist, scientist, Shakespeare scholar, visionary, inventor, actor, mime, filmmaker, clown, teacher, lecturer, colleague, and friend. Recipient of numerous grants, awards and honors in both the arts and sciences, a Guggenheim and NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts fellow, he was a creative genius beyond his time. In addition to authoring scores of papers, he held several patents and invented the first motion capture system and the Ditto-scope, a radically new kind of telescope. He was a pioneer in computer generated video, film, and performance.

When not hard at work, he was always there to help when needed and he knew how to bring smiles to faces. He loved his family and pets and was supportive of his wife’s cat rescue work.

Keep ReadingShow less