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NORWALK, Conn. A driver accused of causing a crash on Interstate 95 Wednesday evening in Norwalk fled the scene and was arrested on drug charges two hours later, Norwalk Police say.
Rachel Wood, 31, later told police she was smoking crack, Sgt. Lisa Cotto said.
The accident happened at 4:20 p.m. on the southbound side of Interstate 95, at the Fairfield Avenue overpass, and caused a major traffic backup during rush hour.
Wood drove a 2004 Toyota Solara - owned by a Norwalk woman - onto the highway from exit 15, according to the state police report. She hit a 2010 Nissan driven in the far right lane, which in turn hit a box truck in the middle lane, officials said.
The box truck flipped over, hit the concrete barrier and caught on fire. Debris from the truck hit two vehicles that were traveling north on the highway. It damaged the windshield on a 2010 Nissan Quest and the front end of another vehicle, which the report did not describe.
Wood continued down the highway, police said.
Both the Nissan and the box truck were totaled in the accident. The woman in the Nissan, a Norwalk resident, and two residents of Providence, R.I., who were in the Nissan Quest on the other side of the highway, were taken to Norwalk Hospital with minor injuries. They were treated and released.
The driver of the box truck, a 28-year-old Long Island man, suffered incapacitating injuries, according to the state police report. He is in stable condition, a Norwalk Hospital spokesperson said.
Norwalk Police do not list an address for Wood though state police say she is a Bridgeport resident. She was arrested at 6:55 p.m. at 92 Cedar St. in Norwalk.
Det. David Orr went to the residence searching for Wood, who had a 2009 failure to appear warrant on her. Wood smelled of smoke and Orr could see a crack pipe, Cotto said. She was handcuffed and said she was smoking crack.
Wood was charged with two counts of failure to appear, drug paraphernalia, reckless driving and operating on a suspended/revoked license. Bond was $12,750.
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