Fallen Newtown, CT, Assistant Chief was a "Wonderful Man'

Oct. 30, 2024
Botsford Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Peter Blomberg, 72, was hit and killed crossing a street in Sandy Hook.

Rob Ryser

The News-Times, Danbury, Conn.

(TNS)

Oct. 29—NEWTOWN — A 72-year-old man who was struck by a car and killed Monday night while crossing the street in Sandy Hook was a community-minded Newtown native who was a longtime volunteer firefighter, friends and acquaintances said.

Peter Blomberg, the assistant chief with Botsford Fire and Rescue, was remembered as a "true good citizen" and a "wonderful man."

"He was longtime Newtown resident who grew up here in town and raised his family here and was a really dedicated volunteer firefighter," said Jeff Capeci, Newtown's First Selectman, after paying his respects to family and friends assembled Tuesday at the Botsford firehouse on South Main Street. "It's a big loss for the town and a tragedy."

Blomberg was rushed to Danbury Hospital shortly after the 6 p.m. accident on Church Hill Road, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Blomberg was on his way to a fire commission meeting when he was struck, the same day a Wethersfield volunteer fighter killed in the Berlin brush fire was laid to rest, the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association said in a Facebook post.

The driver of a Toyota Tacoma remained at the accident scene near Dayton Street and was cooperating with police, Newtown police Lt. Scott Smith told Hearst Connecticut Media. An investigation was continuing on Tuesday.

"I'm shocked and heartbroken. He was a close confidant and a true good citizen," said Leslie Ballard, a friend. "What a loss. My heartfelt condolences to his friends and family."

Blomberg, who graduated from Newtown High School in 1969 and had a remodeling business, spent years volunteering as a coach and an organizer for the youth girls softball league, according to a local news report.

" Newtown and all of its volunteer fire stations and members mourns this horrible loss," said state Sen. Tony Hwang in a release. "We pray for the Blomberg family and offer condolences to all who serve at Botsford Fire Rescue and all first responders who put their lives at risk to protect our community."

Hwang said as Newtown awaits results of the investigation "it will be important to assess and review potential roadway safety improvements to better ensure pedestrian, cyclist and motorist safety."

Capeci, the town's top elected official agreed.

"He risked his life fighting fires all the time, and then a tragedy like this strikes," Capeci said.

Ballard, who went to high school with Blomberg but didn't know him as a teenager because she graduated in 1972, got to know Blomberg as an adult when she moved back to Newtown with her husband.

"He is a wonderful man; he has done so much for town — helping out and doing things for other people," Ballard said. "Pete is special."

Witnesses of the fatal crash are asked to call Newtown police Detective Chelsea Harold at 203-426-5841.

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