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New Hartford teen, grandfather killed in Winsted head-on crash

Two or more other people involved are recovering from injuries.

WINSTED, Conn. — The Wolcott Tech school community is reportedly in crisis Wednesday in Torrington after a 16-year-old student and his grandfather was killed Tuesday night. 

Sources confirmed to FOX61 that the pair was en route to hockey practice around 7:30 p.m. when their Equinox was hit head-on on Route 44 in Winsted near Coe Street.

Marcus Rogers, a student at Wolcott Tech in Torrington, and his grandfather, 84-year-old William O’Leary of Plymouth were killed in what police have described as a horrible and avoidable crash. FOX61 reached out to Wolcott Tech for comment but was told the school is in crisis mode Wednesday. The news even impacted students at neighboring schools. 

“We were talking about it all throughout the school day,” said 18-year-old Ewan Oakes-Rogers of The Gilbert School. “Having known that person it was kind of sad when we all heard who it was because we all had an idea because we saw the car—we were like, oh, that’s his car. It’s just kind of sad knowing someone who lives in our community who we all kind of grew up around passed away.”

The driver of the Lexus, 23-year-old Glen Ragin of Torrington was hurt but is expected to survive. Police said he was seeking to pass a box truck when he began driving in the opposite lane. His 18-year-old passenger is being treated for a fractured femur at Hartford Hospital. 

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State Police are investigating in conjunction with Winchester Police. 

“Right now our officers are working closely with the State Police CARS Unit to try to figure out the cause of the collision. It is a horrible collision, and our hearts simply go out to the family and the friends of the people who perished in this accident,” said Sgt. Kevin Kinahan, Interim Chief of the Winchester Police Department.

Route 44 was closed for several hours for the investigation and has since reopened.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision is asked to contact the Winchester Police Department at (860) 379-2721.

Doug Stewart is the Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.

Samaia Hernandez is a reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at shernandez@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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