An 18-year-old driver dies and four others are injured in an accident in Wolcott

The 17-year-old passenger was in critical condition and the three passengers in the back seats, one aged 16 and two aged 18, had suffered “very serious injuries”, police said.

WOLCOTT, Connecticut – A vehicle crashed into a tree in Wolcott on Friday evening, killing the 18-year-old driver and sending four other teenagers to the hospital, city police said.

Police said they received a report at 10:02 p.m. of a vehicle that had left the road and struck a tree near Spindle Hill Road. While en route to the scene, officers were also told the car was “now engulfed in flames.”

Officers found the vehicle at the bottom of a small embankment, leaning on its side against a tree, police said. Police found the front of it to be on fire.

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When officers arrived, two people had gotten out of the vehicle and told them that there were three more people inside.

While a Wolcott firefighter arrived and attempted to extinguish the fire, police said an officer pulled a person and a passenger in the back seat out of the shattered rear window.

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Two other people who were still trapped in the vehicle were rescued after Wolcott Fire Department arrived and extinguished the fire, police said.

The 18-year-old driver was found dead at the scene of the accident, police said. His identity has not yet been released.

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A 17-year-old in the front passenger seat was taken to Hartford Hospital by Life Star helicopter in critical condition, police said. Three passengers in the back seat, ages 16, 18 and 18, suffered “very serious injuries” and were taken by ambulance to local hospitals.

The cause of the accident is currently known and the Naugatuck Valley Collision Investigation Team, comprised of police officers from surrounding towns, is investigating. The investigation is being led by Wolcott Police Sergeant Jeff Reichard.

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