A car driving the wrong way on I-95 southbound at Exit 70 in Old Lyme led to a fatal accident that killed three people — including an East Haven resident — in a head-on collision at about 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening.
Barbara Prato, 63, of East Haven, was killed during the crash, along with a second passenger in the vehicle Marjorie Minore, 90, of North Haven, and the driver Tamara Nolin, 71, of Branford, according to an online report by The Day.
Prato is the wife of Momauguin Elementary School Principal John Prato.
Nolin's 2007 Nissan Maxima was struck by Frank Sundstrom, 51, of Warwick, R.I., who was driving his Oldsmoblie Alero the wrong way on the highway, The Day reports.
The accident led to additional crashes on the northbound side of 1-95 because other drivers were distracted by the scene.
Sundstrom was the sole occupant of his sedan vehicle and was flown by Lifestar helicopter to St. Raphael/Yale-New Haven Hospital in critical condition.
Police say the accidents on the northbound side of the highway were minor but succeeded in stopping traffic. The multiple vehicle collisions closed both the northbound and southbound lanes of 1-95 at Exit 70 for about four hours. The highway, which is now clear, reopened at about 2:30 a.m.
At this point, police don't know why the driver was traveling in the wrong direction on the highway. Crime scene investigators were on the scene for several hours collecting evidence last night but the accident remains under investigation.
