Woman dead, state trooper injured after Chaplin crash

Traci Hastings, The Chronicle, Willimantic, Conn.
·1 min read

Dec. 23—CHAPLIN — A motor vehicle accident on Route 6 in Chaplin on Wednesday night resulted in a fatality.

Just after 5:30 p.m., Lindsey Bidwell, of North Windham, was traveling west and her Nissan Maxima crossed the center line before the intersections of Nyberg Road and Piaseczny Drive, and collided with a Ford F-350, driven by Connecticut State Trooper Craig Brezniak.

State police described it as an off-set head-on crash, with the left front of Bidwell's 2017 Nissan colliding with the left front of Brezniak's 2021 Ford. The Ford rolled over and came to rest on its right side off the eastbound travel portion of the state highway. The Nissan came to rest between the eastbound and westbound lanes. The road was closed between Miller Road and North and South Brook Roads through the night as the state police investigated the incident. It reopened shortly before 7 a.m. Thursday morning, according to Chaplin First Selectman Juan Roman III.

"As a result of the collision, Bidwell sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to Hartford Hospital," the Connecticut State Police report read in part. "Brezniak sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to Windham Hospital. While at Hartford Hospital, Bidwell was pronounced deceased. Bidwell's next-ofkin was notified by Hartford Hospital staff."

Bidwell was 33 years old.

The state police's Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad is still investigating the circumstances of the crash. Any witnesses to the collision, or with any information about either vehicle's actions just before the collision, are asked to contact State Police Sergeant Mark DiCocco by email at mark. dicocco@ct.gov.

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