Bridgeport CTDOT worker killed on I-95 in Fairfield
BRIDGEPORT, CT — Elvin Hernandez, 60, a Connecticut Department of Transportation maintenance worker who lived in Bridgeport, was killed Friday, September 25, when a car struck him on the shoulder of Interstate 95 in Fairfield, the governor’s office said. Mayor Joe Ganim confirmed Friday evening that Hernandez was a Bridgeport resident. Hernandez joined CTDOT in 2010, the governor’s office said, and worked from the agency’s Stratford garage.
“I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Elvin Hernandez, a Bridgeport resident and Connecticut Department of Transportation employee who lost his life today while on the job on I-95 in Fairfield,” Ganim said in a statement reported by Patch. “Every day, CTDOT workers put themselves in harm’s way to keep our roads safe and our state moving.”
Gov. Ned Lamont, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and CTDOT Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto each issued statements mourning Hernandez. “Slow down, move over, put the phone away, and pay attention,” Eucalitto said. “Our workers deserve to go home safely at the end of their shift, and the public must do its part to ensure that happens.” Carl R. Chisem, president of CEUI Local 511, the union Hernandez belonged to, said the union has pressed for stricter speed limits in work zones and more enforcement of them.
Police say driver struck Hernandez on the shoulder
State police said Troop G took 911 calls about a car driving erratically on southbound I-95 near Exit 24 at about 10:35 a.m., WFSB reported. A CTDOT Ford F-350 dump truck was parked on the right shoulder of the southbound highway near Exit 20, and Hernandez, a passenger in the truck, had stepped out to clear debris, according to the police account. A 2006 Buick Lucerne then drove onto the grassy right shoulder behind the truck and struck him, police said.
Hernandez was taken to Bridgeport Hospital and died there of his injuries, according to police. The dump truck’s driver was taken to St. Vincent’s Medical Center with what police described as suspected minor injuries.
State police described the Buick’s driver as a 60-year-old Derby man. Officers reported that he showed several signs of impairment at the scene and that he told them at St. Vincent’s, where he was checked for minor injuries, that he had used heroin before the crash, WFSB reported. Those are police allegations; none of the charges has been resolved in court.