Stamford Man Killed in I-95 Rollover

WESTPORT -- A Stamford man was killed after being ejected from a van following a three-car crash that closed all three southbound lanes on Interstate 95 for four hours late Thursday night into Friday morning, police and fire officials said.



Westport Fire Department Assistant Chief Larry Conklin said the man, identified Friday by state police as 37-year-old Carlos Flores of Stamford, was declared dead at the scene of the accident, which occurred at about 11:45 p.m., about 100 yards from the Norwalk city line.



With the three lanes closed, state troopers directed cars through the accident scene by routing them through the high-speed breakdown lane, Conklin said



According to a state police accident summary, Flores' van was traveling behind a Subaru Outback when it struck the rear of the Outback, causing the car to veer to the right and strike a metal beam guardrail.



The van then moved to the left but veered right again, striking a Nissan Altima in the center lane, causing it to spin around and end up on the median, state police said.



The 2001 Chevrolet van driven by Flores then went off the highway on the right, striking the metal guardrail and a light pole. The impact caused the van to roll over more than once, ending up on the driver's side, state police said.



Both Flores and his passenger were ejected from the van onto the roadway, and Flores was pronounced dead at the scene. The state police report indicates the men in the van were not wearing seat belts and their airbags did not deploy.



Flores' passenger, a 44-year-old Stamford man, was brought to Norwalk Hospital with non life-threatening injuries, officials said.



A Greenwich woman driving the Subaru complained of minor injuries and was transported to Norwalk Hospital as a precaution, state police said. The Westport man in the Nissan was not injured. Both of those drivers were alone in their cars.



The cause of the crash is still under investigation and no charges have been filed, state police said.

 

Sisters Died of Smoke Inhalation

Westport, CT- Hours before they were killed in a fiery crash on the northbound Merritt Parkway on Saturday morning, Tiffany and Chantel Osorio were in New York City, having a blast celebrating Chantel's 24th birthday.
The sisters, both Stratford residents and graduates of Notre Dame High School in Fairfield, tweeted Friday night about the celebratory day, and headed back to Connecticut early Saturday.
They were found dead inside a Chevy Cobalt at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday near the Fairfield-Westport border. State Police said that Chantel was driving the car owned by Tiffany when it veered left over a soft grass median, then swerved right across both travel lanes. The car went off the right side of the road, striking a tree. The vehicle then spun around, striking a second tree and bursting into flames.
The crash was initially reported as a brush fire, and firefighters from Westport and Fairfield responded to the scene. The flames engulfed the entire vehicle, and both women were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the accident report.

A spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Farmington said Tuesday that both women died of smoke inhalation. The cause of their deaths was accidental.

Earlier Friday, an account registered to Chantel Osorio tweeted: "My week was rough but my birthday has been goin great. Thank you all that have wished me happy birthday so far !!!"

State police confirmed Monday night that the sisters died in the crash

Before leaving for New York City, Chantel tweeted she was "city-bound," and before the pair headed back to Connecticut, Tiffany Osorio tweeted "Omw (on may way) back to CT now."
The sisters were remembered Monday as outgoing and fun-loving.
"There was that one or two seconds of shock," said the Rev. Peter Cipriani, the school chaplain at Notre Dame High School. "And then immediately I felt the tears well into my eyes."

Cipriani taught Tiffany when she was a student at Notre Dame.
"Someone like that -- it makes you excited to get out of bed each day and come to a place like this," said Cipriani, "and that's why it's just devastating the world has lost someone like that."
"The first word that comes to mind in describing Tiffany is `sass,' " he said. "I don't think I've known a more sassier girl, and yet I mean that as the biggest compliment. Wherever you happened to be in the school, you knew that Tiffany was close by -- you just had to listen -- but at the same time, very fun. That's what she was able to use her sass for -- more than anything, was for fun, get a few chuckles out of people.
Cipriani didn't know Chantel as well, but when he looked Monday at her yearbook photo, he was taken aback by the quote she chose to go with her photo:

"Life is short and so am I, so I'm going to do the best with them both before I die."
Chantel Osorio, who graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in 2009, held a state license as a pharmacy technician, according to an online database.

A poster memorializing the sisters is circulating on Facebook, and people throughout the community are taking to Twitter to leave their condolences.

Mike Millea tweeted that he had homeroom with Chantel all four years at Notre Dame.
"I cannot believe that she's gone," he wrote.

Dawud Peterson wrote on Facebook that his children were friends with the Osorio sisters.
"When my family heard the news, we were devastated," he wrote.
Shereffia Francis uploaded the poster on her Facebook page.
"You were both so young, the good die young and my prayer go out to your family, your parents especially," she wrote. "You ladies will be missed and never forgotten ...watch over us thru tough times."

The account @SportsFairfield, which covers sports throughout the county, tweeted "Our thoughts are with the #NDFairfield community and the Osorio family as they mourn the loss of alumni Tiffany and Chantel."

Suspect in Westport Jewelry Store Murder Kills Self

The man suspected of killing a Westport jeweler has killed himself in prison.

Andrew Levene, 41, was arrested on Monday in Spain. He was accused of killing Yekutiel Zeevi, the owner of YZ Manufacturers, LLC, at 431 Post Road East in Westport, while pretending he was going to buy several large diamonds he had arranged to buy earlier that month, according to the affidavit. He was also accused of stealing approximately $300,000 in diamonds, and fleeing the United States to Europe.

The U.S. Embassy in Spain confirmed Levene died in a Spanish prison. Someone from the consulate visited Levene in the prison on Wednesday.

Word of Levene's death drew a quick response from Westport town leaders.

"The death of the accused murder suspect by his own hands will not diminish the extraordinary efforts demonstrated by the Westport police, state and federal authorities, and Spanish police in tracking him down," said Westport First Selectman Gordon Joseloff. "Not only has the suspect taken the life of a beloved Westport resident and caused immeasurable pain to the Zeevi family and friends here, he has now inflicted the same pain on his own family, also innocents in this tragedy. It is a cowardly confirmation of his guilt," Joseloff said.

U.S. Embassy officials notified Levene's family of his death Wednesday.

WANTED

WESTPORT - Police say they are searching for the man who shot and killed a Westport jeweler and critically wounded an associate at a store last night.
The shooting happened at YZ Jewelers on Post Road East at around 10 p.m.

Police say the owner of the store, Yekutiel Zeevi, 65, died at Norwalk Hospital.

The second victim, Ronen Konfino, of New York City, is in critical condition.

Westport Police Chief Dale Call says the suspect had responded to an ad about buying and selling diamonds.

Police say the suspect is a white man, between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, in his early to mid 40s, with a medium build and thinning salt-and-pepper hair. They say he was last seen wearing glasses with black frames and driving a four-door, boxy, blue vehicle.

Anyone with information is urged to call Westport police at (203) 341-6080.

Greenwich Man Dies From Injuries Suffered in Fairfield Bus Crash

Greenwich, CT- A former Greenwich man, who as a Navy pilot survived being shot down during the Vietnam War's Tet offensive, died over the weekend from injuries suffered in a Fairfield bus accident last week, police said Monday.

The man, who was in the accident Friday and died Sunday, according to his ex-wife, was identified as Francis Defreitas, 68. His ex-wife Gail, a Darien resident, said he formerly lived in Greenwich but had moved to Westport.

Around 2:30 p.m. Friday, Defreitas was standing in a Coastal Link Milford Transit District bus that was traveling in Fairfield, according to Fairfield police spokeswoman Sgt. Susan Lussier. He was thrown backward when the bus was cut off by a dark red Volkswagen that pulled over from the Post Road's left lane to the right, turning right onto Reef Road.

Defreitas suffered serious head injuries and was taken to St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Lussier said.

"It was just a freak accident," Gail Defreitas said. "It must have been his stop because he was standing."

Police are searching for the driver of the Volkswagen, which is described as having a tan convertible top.

Even though Francis and Gail Defreitas were divorced, the couple kept in touch.

"He was a very upbeat; he saw the positive in everything," she said. "There was no negative in his world. If there was, he didn't talk about it."

The couple were originally from Hudson, Mass. Francis Defreitas joined the Navy and became a pilot, flying C-131 "Samaritan" transport planes, she said. He flew on missions in which leaflets were distributed and propaganda broadcast against the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong, she said.

During one mission, he was shot down but landed safely, she said. He also flew non-combat missions during his time in the Navy, including flying scientists into the eye of a hurricane and near volcanoes after they erupted, she said.

In civilian life, he threw himself into the computer industry, especially software sales, she said.

"Anything about computers he liked," she said. Among the companies he worked for was Xerox, she said.

Francis Defreitas rode buses because poor sight in one eye prevented him from driving, Gail Defreitas said.

An athletic person who never smoke or drank, he agreed to become an organ donor, Gail Defreitas said.

"They kept him on life support until Sunday. He donated two kidneys and a liver, and he saved three lives. He would have been happy about that," Gail Defreitas said.

The bus was slowing down on its approach to the bus stop just east of Reef Road, Lussier said. Witnesses said they believe the driver of the Volkswagen pulled into the driveway leading to the parking garage behind Borders bookstore.

"We are actively attempting to locate and talk to the operator of the VW or anyone who may have witnessed this incident," Lussier said.

Gail Defreitas said the couple were married for 20 years, but divorced in 1987. After the divorce, Francis Defreitas moved to Greenwich, where he worked at the time in computer software sales, she said.

Theyhave four children, all boys. The family was going to discuss funeral arrangements Monday evening, she said.