Hamden Woman Killed in Accident On Merritt Parkway

A 34-year-old Hamden mother of two was killed this morning when her car crashed on the Merritt Parkway during her commute to work in Greenwich.

According to a Connecticut State Police report, the victim of the single-vehicle accident was Carrie A. Shelomis, of 1835 State St., Hamden.

Shelomis was driving her 1997 Cadillac Catera southbound on the parkway about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, when it careened onto a barrier, crashing through a guardrail and rolling down an embankment before coming to rest into the shallow waters of the Byram River, police said.

"Vehicle 1 attempted to negotiate a curve in the road to the left and then struck the cement barrier in the median," according to the report written by State Police Officer Wayne Rogalski.

"Vehicle 1 then went to the right, struck and went over the wooden guardrail on the right, struck a tree with (its) left side driver's door area and rolled down a steep embankment. Vehicle 1 came to a final rest on (its) roof. Operator 1 was pronounced dead at the scene," according to the report.

And as the news spread, the staff and clients of a Greenwich-based agency for the disabled mourned the passing of a colleague.

Employees at Abilis, which is located just off the King Street exit of the Merritt Parkway near where the accident occurred, were worried that Shelomis had not contacted them.

Abilis spokeswoman Joy Haenlein said Shelomis would call the agency if traffic prevented her from reporting on time to her human resources assistant position she held for about three months, and co-workders worried when they heard there was an accident Wednesday morning.

"Carrie worked for us for about three months, but in the time she was with us, she was professional, kind, and always there to pitch in," Haenlein said. "She had two small children. Our hearts go out to her family ... we're all pretty stunned."

Haenlein added, "She was lovely ... she was very professional ... no one ever had a bad word about her... we were so happy to have her on our team ... everybody in the agency is very sad."

Haenlein said, "...we all have the same reaction, we are all very saddened....the reaction was very, very sad. As you know, our place is very lively ... and it wasn't today."

State police are seeking witnesses to the crash. If anyone has any information about the accident, they are asked to call Trooper Rogalski at Troop G at 203-696-2500.