Connecticut man killed after crashing into tree on Route 8

A 22-year-old Stratford man was killed in a predawn crash Sunday when his car went off Route 8 in Shelton and hit a tree, state police reported.

Daniel Gillespy was driving his 2002 Saturn northbound around 5:30 a.m. when he veered from the right lane across the left lane and onto the median, police said. The crash happened about a mile south of Exit 12.

The car’s passenger side slammed into a tree in the median. Gillespy was pronounced dead at the scene, Trooper Daniel McCue of the Bethany barracks reported.

A section of Route 8 northbound was closed for several hours Sunday morning as police gathered evidence. McCue asks that any witnesses contact him at 203 393-4200 or Daniel.mccue@ct.gov.