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A post on the Notre Dame High School Facebook page about Moreno-Rivas said, "One of our own was in the accident on Rt. 8 on Thursday morning, and was taken from us too soon. Fernando Moreno was in the ND class of '04, and returned to ND in 2013 on Veterans Day to speak to the student body. He was a U.S. Army medic and served in Afghanistan. Some of you may remember him from the school supply drive that he requested ND do, so he could distribute school supplies to the children in Afghanistan. Rest in peace, Fernando."
Another Facebook post, which referenced a school supply drive Moreno-Rivas organized at Notre Dame in 2012, said, "This is the kind of man Fernando Moreno became. Our hearts are heavy, old friend."
In the post, Moreno-Rivas was presenting items to an Afghan child from the school supply drive.
On the page, Moreno-Rivas wrote, "We had a patient to see today... he is an 8-year-old boy who had a follow up. He was injured a month ago and as we went to see him. I took the opportunity to take him some school supplies that the ND family sent. The joy in his face can only be explained by this picture. Thank you again for all your help and as I said before, once we get in contact a(nd) set things up with a school, we will be handing out all of the stuff."
The car accident, which killed Moreno-Rivas, as well as Kelly M. Wootten, 29, of Seymour, took place overnight on Thursday near the Exit 13 off-ramp in Shelton.
Wootten was traveling north — in the southbound lane — and slammed into Moreno-Rivas’s 2015 Chevy Tahoe. Both were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which was reported at about 1:10 a.m. Thursday.
Moreno-Rivas was on his way from his military base in upstate New York when the crash happened.
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