Names withheld until ID’d through autopsies

HARTFORD — Autopsies will be used to identify the two adults that perished during a fiery T-bone crash on Woodstock Road (U.S. 4) in Hartford on Monday night, officials said.

Hartford Police said Tuesday the suspected names of the two deceased would be withheld until their identities could be confirmed following autopsies by the office of the Chief Medical Examiner for Vermont.

The dead driver of one car is believed to be a young man from the Windsor area, authorities said.

The name of the deceased woman passenger in the second car is believed to be from the state of Georgia, they said.

Hartford Police said the second driver, also believed to be a woman from Georgia, was seriously injured and was able to escape her burning car.

Her name also was being withheld pending the release of the names of the two victims.  She was taken by ambulance to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N. H., police said.   

The two cars were headed in opposite directions about 7:15 p.m. when an eastbound Ford Mustang went left of center and went sideways into the westbound lane, police said.  It collided with the second car near Hathaway Road in Quechee, police said.

Hartford Fire Department personnel from Station 2 were the first to arrive on scene and reported the Ford Mustang had burst into flames and a Kia Sorento was partially on fire with occupants trapped inside, Police Lt. Will Furnari said.

Hartford Police and Fire personnel were unable to rescue the driver of the Ford as it was fully engulfed in flames.  The young man was found deceased when the flames were extinguished.

While the driver of the second car did escape, rescuers attempted to extricate her passenger from the Kia but could not get access to her due to the nature of the car’s position and the heat and smoke of the fire, officials said.

Hartford Fire determined that the passenger was deceased after the flames were extinguished, Furnari said.

Furnari said town police were getting investigative help from the Vermont State Police.  A local Medicolegal Death Investigator affiliated with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner also assisted.

The crash remains under investigation.   Furnari said anybody with information is asked to contact Cpl. Aleya Leombruno at (802) 295-9425 Ext. 373

Woodstock Road was closed for about four hours as investigators attempted to try to determine all the details leading up to the deadly crash.

Hartford Fire and Rescue assisted at the scene, while Woodstock, Windsor and Lebanon (N.H.) Police helped with re-routing and shutting down traffic in the area.

The Hartford Department of Public Works, Woodstock Fire Department, the Vermont Agency of Transportation, and Jackson County (GA) Sheriff’s Office also provided assistance.