diff --git a/lib/rack_reverse_proxy/roundtrip.rb b/lib/rack_reverse_proxy/roundtrip.rb
index 3b10331..789b34c 100644
--- a/lib/rack_reverse_proxy/roundtrip.rb
+++ b/lib/rack_reverse_proxy/roundtrip.rb
@@ -166,6 +166,9 @@ def rack_response_headers
           format_headers(target_response.headers)
         )
       )
+    rescue Errno::ECONNREFUSED => e
+      @_target_response = Struct.new(:status, :body).new(502, [])
+      {}
     end
 
     def replace_location_header