NBC CT Investigates continues its look at reckless driving in Connecticut and its possible role in the I-95 fiery crash.
State police say the cause of the large crash and oil tanker fire on I-95 in Norwalk remains under investigation.
However, state public safety sources tell NBC Connecticut Investigates that reckless driving by the operator of a car appears to be involved the collision that has paralyzed one of our country’s largest traffic corridors.
How much of a role, sources could not say.
Gov. Ned Lamont, in a news conference Friday, explained a passenger car came in and sideswiped a tractor-trailer as well as a fuel truck and the fuel truck caught on fire.
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In our original “Reckless on Our Roads” continuing series, we told you how UConn’s Transportation Safety Institute said reckless driving gets worse as the work week goes on, and sure enough, the big crash in Norwalk took place on a Thursday.
“We don't exactly know why we see this increase. But it's very clear in the data that as the week goes on, we see the number of aggressive driving crashes increasing dramatically over time,” said Transportation Safety Institute executive director Eric Jackson.
The question now is, what, if any of this crash, might have been caught on camera?
Investigations
One state law enforcement source tells us it was. NBC Connecticut Investigates could not confirm that any further.
Either way, it underlines what state police told us during one of our other “Reckless on Our Roads” reports in March when it comes to having dash cameras and witnessing reckless driving.
“Dash cams have been a game changer. They have allowed me to see the scene as it unfolds and know exactly what happened, and this can trickle down all the way down to a simple speeding violation or failure to maintain lane. If you're able to send those videos into us, we can pull the license plate. It is possible we can see who's behind the wheel. And then we can follow up at their house and get more information that the public helping us out can only improve road safety,” said Trooper Michael Dean.
State police said if you have photographs or videos of erratic drivers, call 911 and the dispatcher will direct you from there.
