Connecticut House unanimously votes to deter wrong-way drivers on highwayss as deaths triple

Prompted by the tragic death of their colleague, state legislators voted Wednesday for multiple improvements to stop wrong-way drivers as deaths have tripled on Connecticut highways.

After less than 15 minutes of debate, the state House of Representatives voted 151-0 to install wrong-way detection systems at 120 highway exit ramps that are deemed “high risk” by state transportation officials who have studied 700 ramps.

Lawmakers were already working last year on the issue, but they vowed to redouble their efforts following the death of state Rep. Quentin “Q” Williams, a Middletown Democrat who was killed in early January when his car was hit by a wrong-way driver shortly after Williams had left the governor’s inaugural ball in Hartford.

Toxicology tests showed that both drivers were legally drunk at the time of the crash as Williams’s blood alcohol concentration was measured at 0.159% and the wrong-way driver, Kimede Katie Mustafaj, was measured at 0.137%. Both drivers also had traces of marijuana in their blood.

The problem statewide has become more acute as wrong-way collisions killed 23 people in 2022 in Connecticut in 13 different accidents. The state recorded only two wrong-way crashes in 2020 and four in 2021.

Traffic fatalities overall have jumped sharply as more than 300 people died last year on Connecticut roadways. That included 231 drivers and passengers in multiple accidents, along with 75 pedestrians who had been walking or riding a bicycle when hit by a vehicle.

The answer, lawmakers said, is a multifaceted plan for a combination of warning lights, signs, electronic messages, and rumble strips to deter drivers from mistakenly getting on an exit.

Rep. Roland LeMar, a New Haven Democrat who co-chairs the transportation committee, said that the consumption of alcohol is so high that many drivers “have no idea they’re traveling in the wrong direction.”

Referring to Williams, LeMar said, “This has been a difficult year for a lot of us.”

Rep. Kathy Kennedy, a Milford Republican who serves as the ranking member on the transportation committee, said, “We need to pay more attention. We need to get to where we’re going, and we need to get back home.”

In addition to the death of Williams, Rep. Bobby Gibson, a Bloomfield Democrat, said the legislation was personally important to him because a close friend died in a wrong-way crash in 2019.

Rep. Thomas O’Dea, a New Canaan Republican, said he is concerned about marijuana use in cars and the rules for “probable cause” that tell police when they can pull over a car for traffic violations. He noted that the smell of marijuana cannot be used as the sole reason by police for a traffic stop.

“We need a lot more education, quite clearly,” O’Dea said. “We need to prevent the next accident from happening.”

The bill also calls for installing special rumble strips on various exit ramps “in a way that will cause
tactile vibration and audible rumbling when a driver goes the wrong way on these ramps,” according to a nonpartisan legislative analysis.

In addition, the bill says that notification systems should contact state police when a wrong-way driver is detected and “broadcasting a notice on electronic message boards along the highway that a wrong-way driver is present,” the analysis said.

The measures, which would take effect on October 1, still need approval by the 36-member state Senate and the signature of Gov. Ned Lamont.

While deaths in wrong-way crashes tripled in 2022, the most high-profile crash in recent years involved Williams. A detailed state police investigation report, which contained more than 300 pages, showed that Williams was traveling at 85.8 miles per hour and Mustafaj was headed north at 56.9 mph.

The investigation showed that an Infiniti Q60 driven by Williams was traveling southbound on Route 9 near the Exit 18 on-ramp in Cromwell after 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 5 when a wrong-way driver in a Toyota Corolla struck the vehicle head-on. Williams’ vehicle was fully engulfed in flames, and both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene.

States across the country are trying to combat wrong-way driving that leads to hundreds of deaths every year. In Massachusetts, officials have started a $2.6 million pilot program that includes wrong-way detection systems on the highway entrance ramps. If a driver is headed the wrong way, lights will begin flashing, and selected entrances also include audible alarms.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com