By William Kaempffer, New Haven Register
New Haven, Conn. — A city 9-1-1 operator was killed in a one-vehicle accident on Interstate 91 Friday evening.

The crash happened about 7 p.m. in the southbound lanes between exits 7 and 6, authorities said. A city official confirmed the victim, whom police did not identify, is a civilian employee in the Police and Fire departments’ dispatch center.

She was thrown from the vehicle.

Three lanes remained closed into the night as state police investigated and traffic backed up for miles.

According to Fire Department Battalion Chief Ronald Scarano, the vehicle was found on its side after it apparently hit a guardrail.

Because of the location, trains were stopped along tracks at the bottom of an embankment below the highway, and fire personnel searched for other victims.

The search was described as precautionary in case the vehicle had any other passengers who might have been thrown from the wreck. No one was found and train service resumed.

Police officers who knew the victim said she had several children; backpacks and other items inside the car, in part, prompted the search of the hillside. They said she was a dispatcher assistant.

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