Tragic I-84 Crash Claims Three Lives

Two women and one child are dead after their car runs out of gas and gets hit from behind by a truck.

Three are dead after a collision on Interstate 84 that occurred around 4 am earlier this morning. The driver, Jesenia Valentin, 29, of Bridgeport, CT. and her daughter, Angelina Rodriguez, age 9, who was in the back seat, perished in the crash. Another female, whom police have yet to identify, and two dogs were also killed.

According to investigators, Valentin’s 2006 Volswagen Passat ran out of gas, leaving the vehicle at a standstill in the interstate’s traveling lane. Valentin was on the phone speaking with a 911 operator when a truck slammed into the car from behind, and the line subsequently dropped. Police on the scene cautioned other drivers in similar predicaments about not pulling off the highway to avoid collisions.

The driver of the truck, Gino Ruggiero, 52, of Sugar Loaf, PA. was not injured and has not yet been charged, though as NBC New York reports, troopers who responded to accident characterized him as distraught. We will provide more information as it is disclosed. 

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