Rollovers, head-on collision prompt call for caution
BROOKFIELD — Less than 24 hours after police, fire and EMS personnel responded to a vehicle rollover on Oak Grove Road on Thursday, first responders arrived at another rollover crash around 10 a.m. on Friday — that one involving a pickup truck towing a trailer that flipped on West Whisconier Road near Edna Court.
Later that day, two drivers sustained injuries requiring transport to Danbury Hospital after they collided head on in a crash on Federal Road around 4:20 p.m.
Whatever their cause — all three are under investigation, according to the Brookfield Police Department — Chief Andrew Ellis of the Brookfield Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 said the quick succession of the crashes feels increasingly common as the department sees an overall rise in calls of all types.
The department saw a roughly 30 percent increase in fire and EMS calls in 2021 and is tracking a similar increase in the first quarter 2022.
“It's strange we will have bunch of accidents in a spell and it will be quiet for a few days, there is no rhyme or reason to it,” Ellis said. “It's not like Friday night is a busy accident night. A lot of times it's nice clear weather.”
While the timing of the wrecks are tough to pinpoint, certainty comes from the chief when it comes to explaining why none of the recent accidents resulted in fatalities.
“Seatbelts are preventing serious injuries,” said Ellis. “Some people are getting hurt but with a high impact crash, especially a rollover, it keeps you in the vehicle.”
The first federal law mandating car manufactures equip all new cars with both lap and shoulder seat belts was introduced in 1968, according to American Automobile Association. Once an afterthought or an annoyance to most, today AAA estimates at least 90% of drivers and passengers use them.
According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, studies that show seat passenger car occupants who buckle up reduce their risk of moderate to critical injuries by 50 percent and fatal injuries by 45 percent. For those riding in a pick-up truck, wearing a seatbelt reduces fatal injury risk by 60 percent and moderate to critical injury by 65 percent.
With the state seeing an alarming rise in traffic fatalities in recent years, Ellis underlined the message.
“Slow down and wear your seatbelts and drive safely with caution,” Ellis said.