A man died in a wrong way crash overnight on Route 34 near the Merritt Parkway interchange in Orange early Sunday morning.
The Orange Police Department responded shortly after 1:30 a.m. after a witness called 911 after seeing “a dark colored Honda Civic was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of the divided roadway,” according to police in a social media post on Sunday morning.
While the witness was on the phone, the caller reported that the Honda “had been involved in a head-on crash with a BMW SUV near the intersection with Baldwin Road.”
The driver of the 2022 Honda Civic was extricated from the car with the assistance of the Orange Volunteer Fire Department and was transported to Yale New Haven Hospital and died of injuries sustained in the crash, according to police.
Police said the man’s identity is not being released at this time pending family notifications.
There were four people in the second vehicle, a 2024 BMW X1, that were transported to Yale New Haven Hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Police said the eastbound side of Derby Avenue remained closed during the investigation and all lanes were opened at 5 a.m.
Police said the investigation remains on going and witnesses are asked to contact Detective Denny Peterson at [email protected] or (203) 891-2130, ext. 8216.