State leaders call for safer roads following the death of DOT employee, state trooper, and construction worker

State leaders and public safety officials are pleading with the public in Wallingford about roadway safety following the deaths of three workers on Connecticut’s roadways in just the last 5 weeks. It comes ahead of the 4^th of July holiday, an extremely busy time for the state's roads.

“I was a lucky one, I survived,” explained DOT project manager David Ferraro as he remembered an accident he was involved in while working with the Department of Transportation in Greenwich.

He was an inspector at the time and was nearly killed by a drunk driver. The death of his co-worker Andrew DiDomenico Friday hit home.

“Treat those people out on the roads as your family relatives, your father, your brother, your sister, your aunt, look at it from that perspective and slow down,” said Ferraro.

He joined state leaders, fellow DOT workers, and DiDomenico’s family in Wallingford to call for increased safety on the road. DiDomenico was killed while he was picking up litter along an on ramp to 91 south in Wallingford; hit by a suspected impaired driver.

“This is exactly the worst-case scenario we are trying to prevent,” said Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto with the CT Department of Transportation.

Public safety officials say we are over 165 deaths on the roads so far this year, mirroring 2022, one of Connecticut’s deadliest on the roadways.

“When a worker is killed by an impaired driver at 9 in the morning while picking up litter tossed out of car windows, we have a much deeper crisis on our hands,” said Eucalitto.

On the state side, State Police have committed to increased patrols especially this holiday weekend. Also a continued expansion of the states “wrong way” driving technology up to 150 locations by the end of this year, and permanent roll out of work zone speed cameras in over 15 locations at a time statewide following their successful pilot program.

But state leaders added most of the changes are the burden of the driving public to bear.

“We need you to do that, we need you to say get away from that wheel, you are dangerous to get behind that wheel, you are driving like a bat out of hell,” said Governor Ned Lamont.

Workers like Ferraro believe the state is trying to make the roads safer, but says over his career, drivers have only gotten worse, which has him too pleading to everyone that gets behind the wheel.

“It’s a public thing, the public, the traveling public needs to slow down, the traveling public needs to stop driving impaired,” said Ferraro.

But there is also the question about impaired driving here in the state. Both the driver accused in the killing of Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier and Andrew DiDomenico are accused of driving under the influence.

“We are one of the worst states in the nation for impaired driving,” said commissioner Eucalitto.

State leaders say increasing enforcement is necessary, but so is increasing services to address substance abuse.

“It’s a public health issue, it’s a mental health issue, we need to address it that way,” Eucalitto said.

Commissioner Eucalitto and Governor Ned Lamont both said driving impaired is a major issue here in state. The family of Andrew DiDomenico weighing in on the issue.

 “They can certainly impose stricter penalties for those offenders and absolutely repeat offenders, no more slaps on the wrist,” said Andrew’s aunt Melissa Lombardi.

The family adding they don’t have the answer, but they do believe change can start with the attitudes of drivers behind the wheel.

“It’s a lack of empathy for situations like this, a lack of respect for fellow citizens, and people are selfish and they are taking their owns wants and needs and not thinking of those that are affected by this until it hits their family,” said Lombardi.

On top of calls for action, again, state officials are reminding drivers ahead of the fourth of July to slow down, move over, and never drive impaired.