State Police Looking For Witnesses To Serious I-84 Crash

MANCHESTER, CT — State police are looking for those who may have witnessed a serious crash Thursday involving a motorcycle and sport utility vehicle while driving from Manchester into East Hartford and vice versa.

The crash took place at 2:51 p.m. on the Westbound side of the highway near Exit 57 and forced authorities to close that side of the highway. Traffic was backed up from East Hartford into Manchester for about four hours.

According to a report issued Friday morning, a 2007 Honda VT600 motorcycle driven by a 43-year-old Willimantic man with a 59-year-old New Britain woman behind him as a passenger was traveling in the center lane. A 2020 Jeep Compass driven by a 25-year-old Stafford woman was directly behind the bike, according to a report.

For an unknown reason, The Jeep hit the motorcycle from behind and pushed the bike until both came to a stop in the right shoulder, a report indicates. In the process, both people on the motorcycle were thrown and both sustained serious injuries, state police said.

The driver of the Jeep was also transported to an area hospital with suspected suspected minor injuries, state police said.

State police said the cause remained under investigation Friday and any witnesses — especially anyone with dash camera footage — are being asked to contact Trooper First Class John Wilson at Troop H, 860-534-1098 or at john.wilson@ct.gov.