Bristol Man Dies In I-84 Accident During Snowstorm 

By Andrew Gorosko

A 64-year-old man, who was a passenger in a pickup truck, died from injuries he suffered in an accident during a late winter snowstorm on westbound Interstate 84, near the Exit 10 onramp, early on the morning of Friday, February 22, officials said.

Norman Leo Semrow was killed in the accident. Mr Semrow’s obituary lists his home address in Bristol. State police initially provided a Southbury post office box for his address.

Mr Semrow was a front seat passenger in a 2002 GMC extended-cab pickup truck, which was being driven by his daughter, Marie Papaioannou, 36. State police initially listed her home address in Southbury. Mr Semrow’s obituary states that Ms Papaioannou lives in Waterbury.

Joyce Ronewicz, 62, of Bristol was a right rear seat passenger in the vehicle. The obituary lists Ms Ronewicz as Mr Semrow’s fiancée, with whom he lived.

At 4:05 am, as it was snowing, Sandy Hook firefighters received a call informing them that a motor vehicle accident had occurred on westbound I-84, between Exit 11 and Exit 10. After getting onto the highway, the firefighters discovered that the accident actually was in the area between Exit 10 and Exit 9. Newtown Hook & Ladder firefighters were thus called the snow-covered accident scene at 4:17 am, which was within their district.

The accident occurred west of the Church Hill Road overpass above I-84, in the area where the Exit 10 onramp merges with the highway.

Ms Papaioannou was driving the truck in the left lane of two lanes on the highway after which, for an unknown reason, the truck drove onto the road’s median, state police said. The median in that area holds a steep hill.

The truck rolled over, coming to rest on its crushed roof, along the left road shoulder of the highway

Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead and Newtown Hook & Ladder Fire Chief Dave Ober responded to the accident with their fire crews.

Chief Halstead said firefighters stabilized the flipped vehicle with air bags, after which they used extrication tools to remove the three people who were trapped inside the heavily damaged truck.

The extrication involved removing doors from the truck, he said. The work took about 30 minutes to accomplish, he added. About 18 firefighters went to the scene.

Mr Semrow was pronounced dead at the scene after having received a fractured skull in the crash, according to state police. A medical examiner went to the accident.

Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps members transported Ms Papaioannou and Ms Ronewicz to Danbury Hospital for treatment of injuries. Ms Papaioannou received hand injuries; Ms Ronewicz received rib and facial injuries, state police said.

Ms Papaioannou was treated at the hospital and released; Ms Ronewicz was admitted as a patient and discharged on February 25, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Chief Halstead said that when the accident occurred Ms Papaioannou had been driving her father to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City for cancer treatment.

The section of I-84 where the accident occurred was closed to traffic for about four hours as state police investigated the crash during the continuing snowstorm. State police diverted motorists onto local roads.

The crash remains under investigation. State police ask anyone with information on the accident to contact them at Troop A in Southbury at 203-267-2200.