Granby Resident Dies in Crash on Route 20

Updated, 7:50 p.m.
Injuries suffered during a one-car accident on Route 20 in East Granby Tuesday morning led to the death of a Granby resident, according to state police.

Winifred Duncan, 76, of North Granby Road, was pronounced dead on arrival at Hartford Hospital after she lost control of her 2008 Ford Taurus traveling east on Route 20, crossed the westbound lane, struck a wooden post and a utility pole before hitting a tree, according to Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance.

“The vehicle sustained significant front-end damage,” Vance said in a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon.

The accident took place at 11:22 a.m., Vance said. The accident shut down both lanes of Route 20 from Canal Road to Newgate Road for about 2.5 hours.

News of Duncan’s passing spread quickly through Granby, where Duncan was an active volunteer at the polls during elections in town, according to Louann Hall, the assistant moderator of Tuesday’s capital improvements referendum.

Poll workers became concerned when Duncan did not show up for her assigned post at Granby Memorial High, the location of the referendum vote, Hall said.

Duncan apparently was on her way to get coffee and doughnuts for her fellow volunteers before she went to the polls, Board of Finance Chairman Michael Guarco Jr. said.

“I was shocked and saddened,” Hall said. “She’s just one of those people who leaves a huge hole [with her passing]. She had a great sense of humor. She could talk for hours about politics. You’d think when you reach retirement age, you’d slow down. But she could get fired up about issues. She was a real firecracker.”

Duncan is credited with, among other things, having Granby institute curbside voting for infirm residents about three years ago, Hall said.

“She also did the absentee ballots since she moved into town” about a decade ago, said Hall, noting that Duncan was also active in the Republican Town Committee. “She had a real mind for numbers.

“She has been doing this for so long, she was the go-to person for a lot of issues, like who to call at the state for a question...it’s unbelievable what she knew.”

Guarco said that Duncan was "a very active citizen. Not necessarily on the boards, but with following the boards, their activities, expressing her opinions and listening and learning through the whole process. She'll be missed."

First Selectman John Adams said that Duncan was also an accomplished journalist who frequently contributed to The Granby Drummer.

Hall said that it was almost poetic that Duncan passed away while on her way to volunteer at the polls.

“She felt strongly that we all participate in the democratic process,” Hall said. “That’s why she volunteered. She believed.”

The accident is still under investigation, according to Vance; anyone with information is asked to contact the East Granby resident state trooper at 860-653-5385.