A Brooklyn couple is dead after their SUV suddenly shot across all three lanes of northbound I-95 in Stratford, left the highway, and slammed into a traffic sign support and a tree near Exit 32. The driver, Jeffrey Stein, and passenger Jessica Stein were both pronounced dead at the scene after the Saturday morning crash.
According to NBC Connecticut, officers received a report of the one-car accident around 10:15 a.m. in the area of Exit 32. The station reports that both the driver and passenger suffered fatal injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene. NBC Connecticut identified the victims as 54-year-old Jeffrey Stein and 43-year-old Jessica Stein of Brooklyn, New York, though a report from Greenwich Free Press lists Jeffrey Stein's age as 55 — the two accounts differ on that single detail.
How the Crash Unfolded
The vehicle involved was a 2019 Mazda CX-9 that had been traveling northbound, according to the same NBC Connecticut report. News 12 Connecticut's account of the crash describes the SUV flying across all lanes of traffic before leaving the road entirely. As the station put it, “it suddenly flew across all lanes of traffic, off the road and into a grassy area of the exit ramp. The car then struck a traffic sign support and a tree,” according to News 12 Connecticut's reporting.
The vehicle came to a stop in the grassy gore area of the exit ramp after impact, per the same account. What caused the SUV to leave its lane has not been determined, and the case remains actively under investigation, according to a statement from Connecticut State Police.
Multiple Agencies Responded to the Scene
The crash drew a sizable emergency response. News 12 Connecticut reports that the Stratford Fire Department, Stratford EMS, the state Department of Transportation, and State Police, including its Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad, all responded to the scene.
Connecticut State Police say Trooper Daniel Sottini is the primary investigator on the case. Anyone with information related to the collision is asked to contact Troop G at 203-696-2500.
A Second Deadly I-95 Crash This Year
The Stratford crash follows another fatal wreck on the same highway earlier this year. In July, a 24-year-old Stratford woman, Catherine Palaia, died when a tire detached from a pickup truck, crossed the median barrier, and struck her Toyota RAV4 on southbound I-95 in Milford, according to Patch. That crash, which happened near Exit 41, shut down both sides of the highway for seven hours while investigators worked the scene.
