Winsted senior center crash remains under investigation

Nov. 06--WINCHESTER -- The 41-year-old driver involved in an accident Saturday night during which two cars hit the Winsted Senior Center is in stable condition at Hartford Hospital, after he was airlifted by LifeStar helicopter for possible spinal injuries, according to Police Chief William T. Fitzgerald Jr.

The injured driver, Jason Rogers of Torrington, was driving a Lexus on Holabird Avenue near the intersection of Fruit Street when his car and a Volkswagen van collided, according to police. The two vehicles then crashed into the front vestibule of the Senior Center, smashing it to pieces. The center remains open.

Thomas Kirkwood, 58, of Winchester, was driving the van, which had three passengers inside, Fitzgerald noted.

A female passenger in the van, whom Fitzgerald didn't name, has been released from Hartford Hospital after she was also taken Saturday night by helicopter to the emergency room.

Two other injured passengers, whose names were not released, were separately taken to Waterbury Hospital and Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, according to the police.

All of the injured, except Rogers, were released by Monday, Fitzgerald said.

"At first we thought they were drag racing," the chief said, but "now we believe one vehicle struck the rear of the other vehicle and pushed it. We were told the bumpers were hooked together."

"Speed was an issue," he added. The speed limit on the residential road is 25 mph .

Blood tests from the victims have not yet been received from the hospitals, Fitzgerald said. "We're still piecing it together," he said.

"One passenger ran from the scene," Fitzerald said. "We found him and talked to him. Some people are afraid when they see police."

The testimony of two of the witnesses "doesn't make sense," the chief said. "He says one thing, the other says another."

A neighbor who lives across the street from the senior center said he called 911.

"We heard the cars screech. We heard them come up the road," said the witness, who asked not to be named.

"One car went through the (vestibule) entrance, they had to pry him out," the neighbor said. "One car was side-swiped and spun out. The front of the van was facing out."

The accident didn't damage the main portion of the building, Town Manager Robert Geiger said. The repair cost for the entryway, which hasn't yet been assessed, will be filed with the drivers' insurance first, he added.

The impact of the cars on the entryway is noticeable with most of one wall destroyed. A nearby pile of debris contains strips of insulation and pieces of drywall that was cleared away from the building.

The crash knocked out the heat to the building, said Senior Center Director Jennifer Kelley. It was fixed around noon Monday, she added.

Workers are "shoring up the entryway," she said, to make it safe, until repairs can be made.

The center received "many calls (on Monday) to see if we were still open," Kelley added. "They were curious about the situation after seeing the news," about the crash.

She said despite the accident, programs were held as usual on Monday as members attended the morning fitness class and others arrived for lunch.

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