State Police Trooper Danielle Miller

WOLCOTT — An off-duty state police trooper died Sunday of injuries suffered in a head-on two-car collision Saturday, police said.

Trooper Danielle Miller, a 27-year-old Wolcott resident who was assigned to Troop L in Litchfield, was driving a Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser when it collided with a 2004 Ford pickup on Wolcott Road at 8:48 p.m. Saturday. Police identified the driver of the pickup as Aric Rivkin, 30, also of Wolcott.

Wolcott police said Miller and Rivkin, who were both alone in their vehicles, were taken to hospitals. Police said Rivkin was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening and released early Sunday morning.

The crash, which occurred near Tosun Road, is being investigated by the Regional Naugatuck Valley Collision Investigation Team, which consists of officers from the Wolcott, Cheshire, Naugatuck, Middlebury and Watertown police departments. Naugatuck police Lt. Bryan Cammarata, who joined Wolcott Police Chief Edward Stephens in briefing reporters Sunday afternoon, is the commander of that investigation team.

“Right now, we’re processing all the evidence that we found on scene,” Cammarata said. “It’s just way premature for us to be speculating one way or the other. We want to get as much information as we can.”

Responding officers and firefighters used the Jaws of Life to cut open the roof of Miller’s cruiser to extricate her from the vehicle, Stephens said.

Stephens said he believed Miller was off-duty, in plain clothes, when the accident occurred around the corner from her home.

Near the crash site, the posted speed limit is 40 miles per hour. When asked about road conditions, Stephens said it didn’t appear that the snow or ice was a factor, but cold temperatures could have caused the road surface “to be very cold, which sometimes can become a factor when it comes to vehicle tires and friction on the roadway.”

Although there is a curve along the road near where the accident occurred, that turn is not very sharp, Stephens said.

Police said it appeared both vehicles were traveling in opposite directions; Miller’s cruiser was northbound, while Rivkin appeared to be traveling south.

The stretch of Wolcott Road, also known as Route 69, between Sharon and Nichols roads was closed for several hours overnight while officers investigated and collected evidence.

State police spokesman Eric Haglund issued a statement Sunday mourning Miller’s passing. Haglund said Miller had graduated from the Connecticut State Police Academy in December 2014.

”We are grateful for her dedicated service to the Connecticut State Police and the residents of Connecticut, and our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends during this difficult time,” the statement read.

Cammarata said in a statement early Sunday that the investigation could take weeks. He later told reporters that the regional accident reconstruction team will release a report on the crash through the Naugatuck Police Department.

Police said Rivkin so far has “been very cooperative,” while not disclosing what information he may have shared with officers.

A field sobriety test was not conducted, but a blood sample of the surviving driver “is something we will be subpoenaing,” Cammarata said.

“We see a lot of tragedy unfortunately in this job,” Cammarata said in response to a question about how officers are taking the investigation. “It does hit a little closer to home, seeing a fellow officer. We still have to do our job, no matter the case,” he said.

Stephens described Miller as “very energetic, very physically fit. We were hoping because of her condition, young age, she would be able to pull through. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case,” he said.

Before joining Troop L, Miller was an intern for the Waterbury Police Department.
When reached for comment, Waterbury Police Deputy Chief Fernando Spagnolo said he did not know Miller personally, but described the accident as “a tragic incident.”

We stand and support the state police as they go through this difficult time,” Spagnolo said.

Anyone with information related to the crash is requested to contact the Wolcott Police Department at 203-879-1414.