3 Killed In I-95 Wrong-Way Collision; Victims Identified

NORTH STONINGTON, CT — A 17-year-old driver entered Interstate 95 on Exit 93 in North Stonington shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday night headed the wrong way, driving southbound in a northbound lane, according to a state police report. Within moments, she collided head-on with another vehicle, the report reads.

The wrong-way driver, Abigayl Lanphear, was killed. She was from Westerly, Rhode Island.

The vehicle she hit was carrying a family from West Warwick, R.I. The occupants in the front seats of that car, Roger A. Noel, 85, and Dorothy Noel, 83, were killed.

The couple had two passengers in the vehicle. Yvonne Noel, 56, also of West Warwick, was seriously injured. Her condition was unknown as of Thursday morning. Cynthia Plasiak, 62, of an address not listed on the police report, suffered what was suspected to be minor injuries.

Lanphear's passenger, Jada Laoy, 17, also of Westerly, was seriously injured. Her condition was unknown as of Thursday morning.

Lanphear and Laboy were not wearing seat belts, according to the report.

WPRI obtained Lanphear's driving record and reported she obtained her license in the summer of 2018 and within a month, was involved in an accident. Her driver license was suspended, the station reported.

The Westerly Police Department confirmed late Wednesday night that it had made the death notification for Lanphear.

The Hopkinton, R.I., Emergency Management Agency reported the accident occurred near the Connecticut-Rhode Island border.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation reported that the highway was closed as a result of the two-car accident at 7:56 pm.

According to the regional police and emergency scanner, ambulance companies from Westerly, Ashaway, Stonington and North Stonington responded to the crash.

The I-95 corridor in Stonington has three exit ramps. It also has the second-highest rate of crashes per vehicle on the highway east of New Haven, according to the University of Connecticut Connecticut Crash Repository.

There were more than 2,940 crashes on the stretch of the Interstate in Stonington and North Stonington from September 2015 until September of 2019.

Westerly High School, which Lanphear and Laboy attended, is offering counseling services to students.

Laboy was seriously injured but according to a post on Facebook by her father, she's expected to survive.