Naugatuck Man, 39, Killed On Area of 395 That Drivers Say is Dangerous

Connecticut State Police have identified a man who died in a tractor-trailer accident in Norwich Thursday as 39-year-old Willie Dailey Jr. of Naugatuck.

CBS Connecticut 1080 AM reports that Daily was killed when the tractor-trailer he was driving went down an embankment at the Exit 81 West off-ramp of I-395 north Thursday morning.

Dailey is said to have a wife and two young children, with whom he made his home in the Lantern Park condominium complex. 

The safety of the section of I-395 where Daily reportedly crashed has been questioned by motorists for several years. The Montville, Conn., Patch site took an in-depth look at its safety in February after receiving several complaints about the area.

The story says that some of the most closely spaced exits on Interstate 395 North are in Norwich, with three that have ramps within one-fourth of a mile of each other. And it states Exits 81E (Route 2 East) and 81W (Route 2 West) are the most problematic. Traffic from Route 2 East enters close to where drivers exit for Route 2 West, which is only feet away from the Exit 82 Norwichtown interchange.

“Everything in that section of 395 is way too close together," driver Mike Riccardi told Patch in February. "You have to floor it to get in or out - it truly is pretty dangerous. You really should have more than 50 feet to merge especially if you’ve got crossing traffic trying to get in to take the next exit.” 

Statistics as of February

According to Kevin Nursick, spokesman from the Connecticut Department of Transportation, statistics show that the rate of accidents is "fairly typical for limited access highways." 

There have been 393 crashes on the 4.2-mile stretch of I-395 from Exit 79A to Exit 82.

Traffic volume varies from 36,700 at Exit 82 to 63,200 at the Montville/Norwich line.

Of the 393 accidents, 331 had property damage only, three resulted in serious injuries and three were fatalities. 

The top five primary contributing factors were following too closely, driver losing control, speeding too fast for conditions, improper lane change, and failure to grant right of way.

The DOT says that it is investing in upgrades in the area, according to Montville Patch.

Read the full story about that section of highway here on Montville Patch.