A Texas truck driver accused of setting off a deadly lumber spill on I-95 is now in a Connecticut jail facing a negligent homicide charge. Dewayne Garrison, 52, a tractor-trailer driver from Spring, Texas, was flown to Connecticut this week after state police charged him in connection with a September pileup on I-95 that killed a 39-year-old motorist. Investigators say the crash began when Garrison’s rig lost a heavy load of wood, which tumbled into oncoming lanes and triggered a chain reaction that left one driver dead and others injured. Garrison was arraigned in Middletown and is being held on $50,000 bond.
As reported by New Haven Register, Garrison was taken into custody by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office on May 20 on an extraditable warrant. He waived extradition, was flown to Bradley International Airport, then transferred to Troop F in Connecticut. Court records and local reporting show he was arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court and is next scheduled to appear on June 17.
How investigators say the crash unfolded
According to a press release and attached criminal information from the Connecticut State Police, Garrison was driving north on I-95 on Sept. 5, 2025, hauling roughly 45,000 pounds of wood when his tractor-trailer struck the median. Stacks of oriented strand board were propelled across both directions of the highway.
The warrant states the boards struck multiple vehicles and set off a chain reaction that killed Nicholas John Kupec, 39, of Waterford, and sent three other drivers to Middlesex Health Shoreline Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Troopers wrote that investigators found no mechanical defects and concluded that operator inattention, not sun glare, was the primary causal factor.
Weapon, charges and what police found
The arrest affidavit also states troopers found a bag containing a loaded 9mm Sig Sauer P365 in Garrison’s belongings. Investigators wrote that the firearm was not registered to him and that he did not hold a valid pistol permit in Connecticut.
Reporting from CT Post says the warrant notes Garrison passed field sobriety checks. A passenger told investigators the load had been picked up from a Weyerhaeuser site and was destined for a Rhode Island lumberyard.
Legal implications
Garrison faces negligent homicide with a motor vehicle and a weapons-in-a-vehicle charge among the counts listed by state police. Connecticut’s negligent-homicide statute is codified at Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-222a, which provides penalties that can include a fine and up to three years in prison. The weapons-in-vehicles prohibition appears at Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-38, which treats unpermitted firearms in a vehicle as a class D felony.
What happens next
Prosecutors will decide whether to file an information and pursue the counts against Garrison ahead of his June 17 appearance, according to court records and local reporting. The Connecticut State Police have asked anyone with video or information about the Sept. 5 crash to contact Troop F; the department’s release includes contact details for investigators.
Broader context
Loss of heavy commercial loads and resulting multi-vehicle pileups remain a persistent highway safety problem on busy corridors like I-95. State investigations after such crashes often focus on load securement, driver attention and company practices. This arrest follows a months-long inquiry by troopers and underscores the legal exposure that can follow when investigators conclude operator inattention causes a deadly spill.
