WESTPORT, Conn. — Officials are urging drivers to stay inside their vehicles after 50-year-old Salvador Castelan-Flores of New Haven was struck and killed on the Merritt Parkway earlier this week.
Connecticut State Police said Castelan-Flores was involved in a single-vehicle crash Monday morning when his Chrysler Pacifica struck a wooden beam guardrail in the southbound lanes near Exit 21. The crash disabled his minivan, which came to rest perpendicular in the left lane.
Investigators say Castelan-Flores exited his vehicle and, moments later, was hit by a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder traveling in the same lane. Troopers reported that the driver of the Nissan swerved right to avoid the disabled vehicle, but Castelan-Flores also moved in that direction and was struck. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Westport medics.
The tragedy has prompted renewed warnings from state officials about the dangers of getting out of a vehicle on busy highways.
“If you find yourself stopped on the side of a highway or a busy road, the safest place to be is inside your car,” said Eva Zymaris, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Department of Transportation. “Even if you get out for a second, you’re vulnerable to other cars speeding by.”
State police echoed the message, reminding drivers to remain inside their vehicles whenever possible, keep seatbelts fastened, activate hazard lights, and immediately call 911 if stranded in a dangerous location, especially near a median or slim shoulder.
Sgt. Luke Davis of the Connecticut State Police said that even a damaged vehicle still offers “some semblance of protection.”
The crash remains under investigation.
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