A dump truck driver from New Milford was airlifted to Hartford Hospital with life-threatening injuries Thursday afternoon after his truck collided with a Lexus and then slammed into a parked Kia on Route 202 in Washington, Connecticut, leaving five people hurt in all. The crash happened in the area of 253 New Milford Turnpike and forced a lengthy closure of the busy roadway near the Washington-New Milford town line.
According to the Hartford Courant, the 37-year-old driver of the 2018 Ford F750 was heading eastbound when a 2026 Lexus RX 450h pulled out of the Union Savings Bank parking lot and into his lane. Connecticut State Police said the Ford struck the driver's side of the Lexus, causing the truck driver to lose control, swerve left and crash into a parked, occupied 2021 Kia Seltos across the street, per the Courant's report. Troop L in Litchfield was notified of the collision at approximately 12:51 p.m. near Wheaton Road, according to Patch.
The truck driver was flown by LIFE STAR helicopter to Hartford Hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries, the Courant reported, citing Connecticut State Police. The 71-year-old Lexus driver, from Fairfield, and his 70-year-old passenger were taken by ambulance to Danbury Hospital with serious injuries. Patch reported separately that at least two people were hospitalized following the crash, which it described as involving a dump truck.
Parked Kia's Occupants Also Hurt
The Kia Seltos was parked and occupied by two people, a 37-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man from East Haven, when it was struck, according to the Courant's account of the state police report. Both were taken to Danbury Hospital with minor injuries. Separately, WTNH reported that the drivers of the Lexus and the Kia, along with their passengers, were all transported to a hospital with various serious or minor injuries, and that five people were injured overall in the crash.
All three vehicles were towed from the scene, the Courant reported. Route 202 was shut down while authorities investigated, Patch noted, and the Connecticut Department of Transportation responded to assist with the road closure.
Reconstruction Unit Called to Scene
State police also requested assistance from the agency's Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad, known as the C.A.R.S. Unit, according to the same Patch report. The crash remains under investigation, and anyone with information has been asked to contact Troop L at 860-626-7900, per the Courant.
The Washington crash adds to a sobering backdrop of roadway danger across Connecticut. The state recorded 83 traffic fatalities as of May 2025, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the UConn Crash Data Repository, cited by the Hartford Courant — a steep drop from the 108 fatalities reported at the same point in 2024 and the 109 deaths recorded during the same period in both 2023 and 2022. Officials have pointed to dangerous driving patterns including speeding, distracted driving and driving under the influence as persistent factors behind the state's serious crashes, the Courant reported.
