West Haven driver dies in wake of flash flood

08/30/2006

W. Haven driver dies in wake of flash flood

Marissa Yaremich , Register Staff

WEST HAVEN — Gladys Padula, a 47-year-old mother of two, died Tuesday at Yale-New Haven Hospital less than 48 hours after she became trapped in a "freakish" flash flood late Sunday. Padula, of Perry Merrill Drive, was northbound at 11:05 p.m. on Morgan Lane in a torrential downpour when she drove her van beneath a railroad trestle and unwittingly into an 8-foot pool of accumulated rainwater.

Witnesses who called police via cell phone told them that the murky water instantly surrounded the van to its rooftop with Padula trapped inside.

West Shore firefighters dove under the water and discovered she had managed to get outside the van, but was unconscious without a pulse and submerged alongside the vehicle.

Emergency crews managed to recover Padula’s pulse and blood pressure in the ambulance en route to Yale-New Haven Hospital. It was unclear if she ever regained consciousness.

A relative, who identified himself as Bill, answered the phone at the home Padula shared with her husband, Michael Padula, and their two daughters, but declined to comment.

A shocked neighbor, Phyllis Pilletere, said her heart goes out to the family, especially Padula’s two daughters, who are scheduled to attend classes at Pagels elementary and Bailey middle schools Thursday.

Pilletere said Gladys Padula was a quiet woman, who took pride in her home’s exterior. The Padulas always took time to wave or strike up a conversation with Pilletere and her husband when they took their regular walks past the Padulas’ home, Pilletere said.

"I just feel so bad for the woman. I really do because we don’t actually know what took place," said Pilletere, who is a city records clerk.

Pilletere said the incident’s circumstances are "unbelievable." It has further instilled in her a caution about traveling under that trestle, which is near her home but lacks streetlights nearby, she said.

City Public Works Director Beth A. Sabo said she has been talking with Police Chief Ronald M. Quagliani about what measures can be taken to increase safety in the area during heavy rains.

"The city’s going to have to discuss with a number of people" what signs, lights or other steps can be taken, she said.

Eliminating the dip in Morgan Lane that the heavy rains flooded Sunday would be difficult because of the Metro-North railroad tracks running overhead. "Unless they raise their tracks you can’t elevate the road," Sabo said.

Quagliani could not be reached for comment.

Mayor John M. Picard extended the city’s sympathies to the family, saying staffers will do "anything" to help them, including talking with Metro-North on how the company and city can make the area safer.