New Haven Independent

Here’s what happened, according to state Trooper William Tate:

Esmeralda Mena, 23, of Bridgeport, was driving a 1999 Mercury Mountaineer eastbound on the connector between Exit 1 and the interstate highway entrances at around 1:45 a.m.

Her car “left the travel portion of the highway onto the right shoulder,” hit the curb, a guard rail and a light pole, and rolled over. It landed “on its left side in the right lane and the shoulder.”

The air bag did work, but the driver apparently wasn’t wearing a seat belt. She was partially ejected from the vehicle. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.

The car had three passengers, in their 20s and late teens. All three were taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The state police are awaiting results of a report from the Chief Medical Examiner before commenting further on such questions as whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.