West Hartford Police Continue Investigating Fatal Car Accident

Accident reconstruction teams are piecing together what happened at approximately 7:10 a.m. Tuesday, March 25, when a car and West Hartford school bus collided at the intersection of Boulevard and Mountain Roads.

Patricia Rosoff, 64, of West Hartford, was driving a 2000 Saab east on Boulevard Road. She was transported to UCONN Medical Center, where she succumbed to her injuries.

Rosoff was a dean and teacher at Kingswood Oxford School. The school shared a tribute to Rosoff on its Facebook page.

The school bus, driven by Emmanuel Cruz, 23, of Manchester, was southbound on Mountain Road. The bus driver and students did not sustain injuries, according to police. Both the car and bus were heavily damaged and were towed from the scene.

There are multiple factors that may come into play with accidents — the cycle of the intersection’s traffic light and the weather, for example, according to Captain Jeffrey Rose of the West Hartford Police Department's Traffic Division.

“We have a team of eight officers working on accident reconstruction,” Rose told Patch. “The officers are mapping the intersection with a total station — it looks like surveying equipment and it’s used to plot points to make a realistic looking diagram.”

They test the roadway and review photos.

“We’re going to go back tomorrow — today’s a cloudy day,” Rose said, adding that tomorrow is supposed to be sunnier so they can look into sun as a possible factor.

Rose said his team is thoroughly investigating the accident. He said it’s still too early to render conclusions on what may have happened.

“They’re [the cars] both moving objects so it’s exactly what it is — they hit each other,” he said. “They met in the middle of the intersection.”

He said the officers on the reconstruction team know the importance of being respectful and helping loved ones who want answers.

“This is a human being,” Rose said. “Someone’s mom, grandmother, friend.”

Any witnesses to the accident are asked to call the West Hartford Police Department at 860-523-5203. The lead investigators are Officer Jeff Swank and Officer Steve Morehouse.