With Sunday’s wrong-way crash that killed four people on I-95 in West Haven, the number of fatalities on Connecticut highways in wrong-way crashes has already equaled the total number in all of 2023.
State police said 26-year-old Kyle Bulkley, of New Haven, was driving a Chevrolet Silverado northbound in the southbound lanes of the highway around 1:20 a.m. when he collided with a Nissan Altima head-on in the left lane.
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According to state police, 25-year-old Husein Aili, of Wolcott, was driving the Nissan Altima that was hit. He and his two passengers, later identified as 23-year-old Jolie Lubin, of Trumbull; and 22-year-old Samantha Birchard, of Norwalk, all died of their injuries.
After the collision, troopers said Bulkley went into the center lane and hit a Nissan Sentra head-on.
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The 42-year-old male driver of the Nissan Sentra and his 39-year-old female passenger were taken to the hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries.
State police said Bulkley died of his injuries from the crash.
The Department of Transportation said most wrong-way crashes involve intoxicated drivers, and the department has invested over $7 million in technology this year alone to prevent similar tragedies from happening.
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“When these wrong way crashes happen, if our systems are activated once we install these flasher systems, they will alert that highway operation center. There’s one in Bridgeport, there’s one here in Newington at our headquarters, and we’re able to get out there as quickly as possible,” DOT spokesperson Samaia Hernandez said.
The State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad is continuing to investigate the crash.
Officials have not confirmed that the crash, which happened near exit 42, is where the driver got on the highway, but the DOT said there are tentative plans to install the new technology at exit 42.
All lanes of I-95 South were closed for several hours after the collision. The area has since reopened.
