‘Devastating:’ Family of man killed in Westbrook wrong way crash speak out

WESTBROOK, Conn. (WTNH) — “How do you explain to a two-year-old and a four-year-old that he’s never coming home, how do you do that?”

On Wednesday night in Westbrook, Mark Palumbo, jr. was killed by a wrong way driver on Interstate 95 while he was coming home from work.

57-year-old Troy Bree of Groton was charged with driving under the influence and reckless driving. State police said he was behind the wheel when he struck Palumbo’s Ford Mustang.

“He was such a girl dad, what you wouldn’t expect from all of the motorcycles and cars and sports that he played, you know what I mean, but he was such a girl dad, and he loved it,” Mark Palumbo, sr., Palumbo’s father, said.

Wrong way drivers have become such a problem that since last December, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) added 75 wrong way detection systems. They said that they average three wrong way drivers per week.

“The system had about 120 self corrections, that’s at least 120 lives saved in our eyes and we are really focusing our efforts,” DOT Spokesperson Josh Morgan said.

For the Palumbo family, the pain of Mark jr.’s death is unbearable.

“The pain of him not being able to enjoy this, everything that he has worked for the salons a detailing business his family, just on your way home from work and it’s over,” Mark Palumbo, sr. said.

Watch the full video in the player above.

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