A man was killed when his pickup crashed on Route 313 in Seymour last night, struck a tree and burst into flames.
Police have not released the victim’s name, but said he is believed to be a 51-year-old Southbury man.
Police received a 911 call reporting a crash on Rimmon Road just before the Woodbridge town line at 10:44 p.m. and found a Toyota Tacoma pickup and small landscaping trailer engulfed in flames off the side of the road.
Eyewitnesses told investigators that the driver was still in the vehicle and possibly trapped, but first responders could not get near the truck because of the intense heat and flames, according to police.
Once the fire was extinguished, emergency crews found the man’s body in the truck.
Police said the preliminary investigation indicates that the driver was traveling west on Rimmon Road, lost control at a curve, went off the right side of the road and traveled up a wooden embankment.
When the truck hit a tree, the tree burst into flames and the driver could not get free.
Police said they have made a tentative identification, but more testing is needed and the name will not be released until the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner completes the autopsy tomorrow.
Traffic was rerouted around the crash scene for several hours after the crash.
The Seymour Police Department Accident Reconstruction is investigating.
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