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College Dean's List Student Killed In Crash Was Newtown HS Football Player

The 22-year-old Fairfield County college student who died in a vehicle crash was a well-known football and rugby player.

Brandon Hensel

Brandon Hensel

Photo Credit: Honan Funeral Home/Obituary

Brandon Hensel, of Newtown, was killed around 5 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 28 on Toddy Hill Road in Newtown, according to police.

Hensel, who was driving a 1999 Ford Explorer, was discovered on a property on Quarry Ridge Road and was transported by Newtown Ambulance to Danbury Hospital where he died on Monday, March 1, said Newtown PD Lieutenant Aaron Bahamonde.

A lifelong resident of Newtown, Hensel was the son of Karen Hensel and the late Kenneth Hensel, Jr, of Sandy Hook. 

He was a dean’s list student while attending Central Connecticut State University, having just earned his degree in mechanical engineering with a concentration in aerospace, his obituary said.

"Brandon possessed an amazingly energetic and positive spirit and was the ultimate lover of life who could light up any room he entered with his infectious smile and joyful personality," his obituary said.

He was also known as quite the jokester and loved to make others laugh.

Hensel was perhaps best known for being a lifelong athlete, from playing youth baseball, and football as a Nighthawk for Newtown High School.

During college, he played rugby with the CCSU men’s rugby team, also known as the Hooligans.

He is survived by his mother, Karen Hensel, and her partner, Michael Pierwola, of Sandy Hook; brother Jordan Hensel and partner, Christina Moon, of California; and brother Kyle Hensel and wife, Kristen Ashley Hensel, of New Jersey, and their daughter, Khloe Arielle Hensel, Brandon’s beloved niece. He is also survived by his grandparents Shirley Wendling of New York, Thomas and Elizabeth Eaton of Sandy Hook, and Ruth Hensel, of Sandy Hook; and many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Following CDC guidelines, a COVID-sensitive walk-through visitation will be held at Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main Street, Newtown, on Saturday, March 6, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Masks will be required. At 1:30 p.m., a graveside ceremony will take place at Zoar Cemetery, 53 Berkshire Road, Sandy Hook.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Brandon Hensel Athletic Memorial Scholarship, c/o Newtown High School, in Brandon’s honor.

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