Pennsylvania Man Killed in I-95 Accident, Brother Hospitalized

It was a rather uneventful Memorial Day weekend in Orange, nothing noteworthy to report except the parade and memorial services. By all accounts it was "quiet." What no one saw coming was the horrific accident called in at around 9:50 p.m. Monday night.

An Orange police officer responded to a call of a car vs tanker truck at the Southbound Exit Ramp at Exit 41 off of I-95. She reported one person was “unresponsive” and Medic 33 and the Orange Fire Department were called to the scene.

There was a lot of work to do before the firefighters arrived, the officer called in the placard information from the back of the truck so the fire department knew beforehand what substances they would be dealing with.

As fire trucks were leaving Station 2 on the Boston Post Road, the officer reported that the truck driver said the tanker, which usually carries motor oil, was empty [no spill or chemical hazard to worry about].

Medic 33 confirmed that the passenger, Jose Nunez, 33, of Warrington, PA, was dead.

Orange Fire Trucks were directed to enter the highway by going the wrong way on the exit ramp. West Haven Firefighters also responded.

The fire department extricated the driver, Nunez’s brother, Johnny, 29, of Providence, RI, from the wreck. He was brought to Yale-New Haven Hospital, and treated for non life-threatening injuries.

The truck driver and his passenger were not physically injured.

Troop G in Bridgeport is handling the investigation, which is continuing.

Nunez reportedly was speeding along I-95 S when he lost control of his car and struck the Jersey barrier, then struck the tanker truck.

One witness, who wished not to be identified, said the car was dragged down the highway for quite a distance and the passenger side was crushed under the rear wheels of the tanker.

There was debris in the roadway and the thruway was a “parking lot” for about 5 hours as rescue crews worked the scene.

There was a report that a third person may have been ejected from the car, so officials searched the nearby wooded area, but found no one.

Around midnight one of the Orange fire engines returned to Station 2.

About an hour later others were released, except for Engine 34, out of Station 1, which was being used as a “blocker truck” to stop oncoming traffic from going beyond a certain point in West Haven per request of state police.

Traffic slowly began to flow in one lane, then, around 1:25 the Orange Volunteer Firefighters left the scene.

State police stayed behind and traffic was closed in two lanes until about 3:19 a.m.

Orange Patch covered the accident remotely from beginning to end on its Facebook page — http://is.gd/6auwq2

On Monday night, the state police released a tally of their Memorial Day enforcement operation.

From Friday at midnight to 5 p.m. on Monday, troopers made 70 drunken driving arrests, wrote 978 seatbelt violation tickets and handed out 2,013 speeding tickets.

They logged 260 accidents; 18 with injuries and four fatals (Groton I-95 and Bolton Route 85).

This fatal accident was not included in these statistics.