POLICE IDENTIFY 1 MAN KILLED

A 24-year-old Derby resident has been identified as the man killed after he was ejected from his car when it plunged more than 50 feet off Route 8 in Beacon Falls and landed on its roof below the highway, police said.

Jonathan Vasquez, of Lafayette Street in Derby, was killed in the crash that occurred around 1 p.m. Monday.

Officials said a man fishing in the Naugatuck River was the first to report the crash to first responders — and to alert them that the vehicle “had fallen from Route 8” onto the railroad tracks below the highway. The drop was about 50 to 75 feet, officials said.

The Connecticut State Police accident report indicated that Vasquez was driving a Honda Accord on Route 8 north about one mile north of Exit 23 in Beacon Falls when he lost control and veered off the road to the right. Vasquez crossed onto the grass shoulder where he hit and went over the metal beam guardrail, the report said.

About 100 feet of guardrail was damaged by the crash, according to the state police report.

Vasquez’s car traveled down the embankment, crossed both travel lanes of Cold Spring Road and continued down another embankment, the report said.

At the bottom of the second embankment, the car flipped over the railroad tracks and landed on its roof and Vasquez was ejected, the report said.

Medics rushed him to Waterbury Hospital, where he died from his injuries, state police said.

Witnesses are asked to call State Police Troop I in Bethany at 203-393-4200.