A two-vehicle rollover crash sent both cars off Route 15 south in Orange and into the woods Saturday afternoon at approximately 4:17 p.m., trapping one occupant in each vehicle, with one person unconscious and a different person in cardiac arrest. One person was transported to a local hospital, and the highway remained shut down for hours as crews worked the scene.
Each vehicle had one person trapped inside after rolling off the roadway and into the woods, according to WTNH.com. First responders reported that one person was unconscious and a different person was in cardiac arrest. One person was taken to a nearby hospital. Both had to be extricated from the wreckage before they could be moved.
Troopers and Reconstruction Squad Respond
Connecticut State Police troopers responded to the crash near Exit 42A, and the department's Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad was also called to the scene, per the same outlet's report. State police said the crash involved two vehicles and described it as a rollover. Police have not released further comment on the conditions of the two people involved, and the investigation remains open.
The crash forced a shutdown of Route 15 south at Exit 42A, and the highway was still closed as of 7:45 p.m. Saturday. Traffic was diverted off the southbound Exit 46 ramp while crews worked to clear the scene, the station's report notes.
Not the First Rollover on This Stretch
Route 15, also called the Wilbur Cross Parkway as it runs through Orange, has seen other rollover crashes in 2026. A rollover on the northbound side near Exit 42A was reported around 11:50 a.m. on June 10, according to nhregister.com, which noted that state police said the extent of injuries in that crash was unknown at the time. The Connecticut Department of Transportation reported congestion stretching 1.4 miles between Exits 41 and 42B that day, with the right lane closed as of 1:15 p.m.
In a separate incident earlier this year, a driver was injured in another rollover on Route 15 north near Exit 42A just before 5:15 a.m. on a Saturday morning, according to a report from WTNH.com. The Orange Volunteer Fire Department, Connecticut State Police and AMR all responded to that crash.
No cause has been determined for Saturday's rollover, and police have not provided additional details on the conditions of the two people pulled from the vehicles. The investigation remains open as the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad continues its work.
