WILTON — Police have confirmed that an East Dixfield man died Wednesday after losing control of his vehicle while driving on a snow-covered road.
Gale Waycott, 62, of East Dixfield, was pronounced dead at the scene, Wilton police Chief Heidi Wilcox said Thursday morning.
Waycott was driving his 1996 green Dodge pickup truck around 12:15 p.m. on Temple Road near the intersection with Orchard Drive when he lost control of the truck, which rolled over and hit a tree.
Speed and road conditions are believed to be factors in the accident, Wilcox said. Waycott was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, Wilcox said.
“The plow truck had not had a chance to get through that road yet,” responding Wilton police Officer Brian Lynch said Thursday. “(The accident) was during the time period that it was changing over from snow to sleet to rain.”
Waycott was extracted from the vehicle by rescue crews, Lynch said, while the road was closed to traffic for two hours.
The accident involved only one vehicle, and Waycott was the truck’s sole occupant.
It was the most serious of dozens of accidents across the region Wednesday as morning snow turned to freezing rain around noon.
In Franklin County, 16 accidents were reported Wednesday afternoon. Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols said that the accidents his department responded to were not severe and were mainly slide-offs because of people traveling too fast for slippery road conditions.
The Wilton accident is no longer under investigation, Lynch said Thursday morning. Wilton Fire and Rescue, Farmington Fire and Rescue and Northstar Ambulance responded to a report of the accident.
Lauren Abbate — 861-9252
Twitter: @Lauren_M_Abbate
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