Waterford police have released the 911 call reporting the wrong-way crash State Sen. Andrew Maynard (D-18) was involved in on Route 32 when he collided with an oncoming car and his Volkswagen Passat tumbled down an embankment.
A driver called 911 saying she witnessed a southbound car go over the divider on Route 32, crossing into oncoming traffic on the northbound side, hitting another car and veering off the road into a ditch by the light for the Route 32 connector.
"I'm assuming, yes, there's probably injuries," the caller told the police dispatcher in the 911 call.
Witnesses told police that Maynard was traveling southbound and crossed at the opening in the divided highway into into the northbound lane, traveling a short distance before he struck another car and continued off the road. Police initially told NBC Connecticut that Maynard was driving in the southbound lanes heading north when the crash happened, but they've since clarified he was on the northbound side going south during the crash.
Maynard suffered a concussion.
The female driver of the vehicle Maynard's car struck in the accident is doing well and Maynard has been released from the hospital.
“We don’t know what actually occurred here and it’s really up to the police to reconstruct this which I believe they’re in the process of doing" said Kelly Reardon, an attorney representing Maynard previously said.
The woman involved in the crash initially said she thought Maynard was driving beside her but then told police that he in fact was driving on the wrong side of the road.
Maynard suffered a severe brain injury during a fall at his home in 2014 and that led to questions about his ability to serve in office and run for re-election. He won his election, and served in the State General Assembly last year.
"His recent car accident, while certainly a setback, will not undermine his commitment to serving his southeastern Connecticut constituents in the Senate," Adam Joseph, the director of communications with the Senate Democrats, told NBC Connecticut.
"It is not a secret that Sen. Maynard continues to work on his speech, which was impaired after the fall at his home in 2014."
Maynard's attorney says there's no reason to believe his injuries, from which she says he's recovered, played any role in the accident.
“He never would have been on the roadway if he felt he was a risk to other people and other motorists and we just don’t know if his medical condition resulting from the fall in any way played a part in this accident at this point.”
Police say they are still investigating the crash.
