Daily Five: Accident On Oil Mill

1. Rain is possible this morning and likely this afternoon and evening, with a chance of thunderstorms as well, according to the National Weather Service. The high for today is 73, with a low of 57, according to the service.

2. Saturday, a Waterford resident drove through the stop sign at the three-way intersection of Parkway North and Oil Mill Road, over a guardrail, down a steep embankment and into the woods. The car was subsequently abandoned there by the uninjured driver, according to a Waterford Police accident report.

There were no skid marks at the scene, according to the report. The driver left the scene and did not report the accident, according to police.

Later, police contacted the driver, who said he fell asleep at the wheel, according to the report. The driver said he didn’t report the accident because he didn’t have a working cellphone, according to the report. Instead, he walked home, uninjured, according to the report.

The driver was issued a misdemeanor summons for evading the scene of an accident, traveling too fast for conditions and failure to stop at a stop sign. Police are still investigating the accident, Police Lt. Jeff Nixon said.

The accident happened right next to where Jesse Spring had a similar accident in 2006. Spring, who was 18, died in the crash. The driver nearly hit a cross for Spring at the scene of his accident.

The driver is responsible for the cost of replacing the guard rail, Public Works Director Ron Cusano said.

Patch did not release the name of the driver because he was penalized with a misdemeanor summons and was uninjured. If the driver is charged further, Patch will release the name.

3. Engineers are currently constructing plans to fix Jordan Cove Road and the job could go out to bid by the end of next week, Cusano said Wednesday. Part of Jordan Cove Road caved in during a storm surge from Tropical Storm Irene.

The road will be fixed by winter, as it cannot be plowed in the condition it's in, Cusano said. Reconstructing the road is FEMA reimbursable, meaning the federal government will cover 75 percent of the cost, he said.

Also, Jordan Cove Bridge is slated to be replaced, although that could take several years, Cusano said. The expenses will be reimbursed 80 percent by the federal government, he said. However, bridges could take a long time to design, and permitting for bridges near the water is a long process as well, he said, so it could be a few years.

4. Some quick hits:

-Waterford High School sporting events tonight include a freshman football game, boys junior varsity soccer game and a girls varsity soccer game.

-Today, Dark Manor Haunted House in Baltic, the self-proclaimed scariest haunted house in Connecticut, opens. Admission is $18 per person, full schedule and address here.

5. On this date in 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average drops 777.68 points, the single largest drop in history. The drop was proceeded by bankruptcies of Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual.

And on this date in 1982, the first of seven people died in the Chicago Tylenol murders. It was found the Tylenol tablets were laced with cyanide, and the killer was never found.

Quote of the Day

“I would rather earn 1 percent of 100 people’s efforts than 100 percent of my own efforts.”

-John D. Rockefeller, who became a billionaire on this day in 1916

Trivia of the Day

Who was the first black billionaire?

 Yesterday’s Answer: Emeka Okafor turned 29 yesterday.