Vernon teenager killed in Buckland Hills crash on Sunday

MANCHESTER, CT — A Vernon teenager was killed in a car crash in Manchester's Buckland Hills neighborhood Sunday night.

The accident occurred at 8:31 p.m. on Buckland Hills Drive near the water tower, police and fire officials said.

When rescue workers arrived at the scene, they found the driver trapped in the vehicle with serious injuries, fire officials reported.

The driver, identified by police as 19-year-old Makayla Theriaque of Vernon, was extricated from the vehicle within 27 minutes and taken to a local trauma center with life-threatening injuries, fire officials said. She was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.

A police investigation revealed that the vehicle was traveling westbound on Buckland Hills Drive. According to police, the vehicle left the road and collided with a tree.

The vehicle was “significantly damaged,” fire department officials said.

Buckland Hills Drive was closed for an extended period between the Target entrance and No. 345 while the incident was investigated, police said. As of Monday, police were still investigating the cause and asked anyone with information about the crash to contact them at 860-533-8620 or 860-645-3325.