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Despite Death, Underpass Flooding Persists

It was just more than two years ago that a local woman drove her minivan along Morgan Lane, under a railroad bridge and into the rising floodwaters that eventually caused her death.

As the city continues to grapple with how to protect people from flash floods in places where roads dip beneath the railroad tracks that snake their way though the city, the lawsuit filed by Michael Padula claiming negligence in the death of his wife, Gladys, inches along in court.

Joel T. Faxon, attorney for Padula, said not enough has been done to address flooding dangers on some of the city’s roads. He pointed to a recent dramatic rescue under the railroad bridge on Washington Avenue after a downpour as evidence that more needs to be done to protect people.

“It continues to highlight the need for West Haven to evaluate the underpasses in its town and shows that they are still unsafe even after the tragedy involving the Padula family,” he said.

This Aug. 2, history almost tragically repeated itself as a family became trapped in their minivan under the railroad trestle on Washington Avenue as water quickly rose, reaching as high as the vehicle’s windows. The mother and father were able to escape on their own and watched as two passers-by rescued their 7-year-old son and infant daughter from the minivan.

The close call came nearly two years after the horrific event it almost replicated. Gladys Padula, a 47-year-old wife and mother of two girls, was driving northbound on Morgan Lane Aug. 27, 2006, when she went down the sharp dip that leads to the railroad underpass. There, her minivan became submerged in deep water from the flash flood.

According to reports, emergency responders dove into the water and discovered Padula unconscious without a pulse and submerged alongside the van. Paramedics were able to resuscitate her on the way to Yale-New Haven Hospital, but she died two days later.

Michael Padula declined to talk about the incident. Faxon said the family is still grieving for the loss of their mother and wife.

Padula’s lawsuit, filed about a year ago, marches slowly but steadily on. He is seeking an unspecified sum in the loss of his wife, which he alleges is due partly to the failure of two West Haven police officers to rescue her. The officers named in the suit are Mark D’Amico and Stephen Viele.

In June, a Superior Court judge dismissed three counts, two of which concerned Officer Jay Masi, who left the scene before Gladys Padula arrived. However, the judge ruled complaints against D’Amico and Viele must stand.

The suit alleges the city failed to maintain or block the road or warn people about its dangers. Also targeted are the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co. and the nearby Highwatch condominium association on Island Lane. Highwatch, which the suit alleges did not properly maintain a retention pond and therefore contributed to flooding, could not be reached for comment.

Regarding Metro-North, the suit claims dangerous low points were created where the track was built across bridges over roads. Metro-North officials did not return a call seeking comment.

Mayor John M. Picard declined to comment on the status of the lawsuit. He also sent his condolences once again to the Padulas. “My thoughts and prayers are with the family all year-round, but especially on the anniversary of that tragic accident,” he said.

While police and city officials say the Morgan Lane underpass does not typically experience flash floods these days, the area has a history of flood problems that have been addressed over the years.

Robert “Bobby” Nebor, a North Haven resident who grew up in West Haven playing along the railroad tracks, said he had his own brush with death during a flood at the Morgan Lane underpass.

Nebor recalls a storm in the early 1980s that flooded the underpass to within a few feet of the bridge, allowing him and a teen friend to jump into the water from the bridge for fun. When Nebor started to walk home from the bridge along the tracks, he was swept into a current that sucked him into a culvert and carried him beneath Morgan Lane. He said he popped out on the other side and was rescued by a friend, but not before gulping dangerous amounts of water and believing he was about to die.

Since then, the city has addressed flooding in that area, including installing a drainage pipe in the 1980s, according to City Engineer Abdul Quadir. Other areas, such as Campbell and Washington avenues, where they pass under the railroad, are still a problem.

When asked what improvements, if any, the city has made recently to roads with flooding concerns, Public Works Commissioner Beth Sabo said she could not comment because of the suit.

Police Chief Ronald M. Quagliani said policies have been put in place to more rapidly address potentially dangerous flooding situations. Patrol officers ride around with orange cones in their vehicles, ready at a moment’s notice to block an underpass if the water gets too high.

He said the worst areas for flooding are Campbell and Washington avenues where they dip beneath the rail bridges. Morgan Lane, he said, does not have a recurring flooding problem these days. He said the flash flood that spilled into the underpass the night of the Padula tragedy was “exactly that” — a tragedy.

“That’s probably one of the most profound tragedies that our community has ever suffered. We have checked that bridge religiously since that accident along with the other bridges. That bridge has not flooded since then,” he said, adding he could not comment specifically about the lawsuit.

In attempting to recreate the conditions that led to Gladys Padula’s death, Quagliani said investigators pumped water from fire hydrants into the underpass during a rainstorm and still were unable to create significant flooding of the sort that happened Aug. 27, 2006.

“Whatever the conditions were on the day of the Padula incident, they never replicated themselves again,” he said, adding: “But it doesn’t bring Mrs. Padula back, and it is still a tragedy.”