PoliceActivity

ATV Rider Crashes into Police Cruiser

Added 2024-05-01 21:42:10 +0000 UTC

New Haven, Connecticut — On April 28, 2024 at 3:40 p.m., New Haven Police Officers were assigned to a dirtbike/ATV detail to address on-going complaints of riders illegally and recklessly operating in the city. Officers responded to the area of East Rock Park on the reports of a group congregating there and used Farnam Drive to access the park. Farnam Drive has been closed to all vehicular traffic since 2020 and is only open to pedestrian traffic.

While the officers were driving up Farnam Drive, they saw that there were a significant number of pedestrians, including families with children, in the area and noticed an ATV driving down the road at a high rate of speed toward the pedestrians. The officers slowed the cruiser and angled it to protect the families and pedestrians they had just passed, while providing a point of egress to the side of them for the oncoming ATV to pass the cruiser.

As the cruiser was slowing down, the operator lost control of his ATV, and struck the front passenger side window of the cruiser. Officers immediately called for medical assistance. The operator was transported by ambulance to the hospital with serious injuries. The Accident Reconstruction team responded to investigate the collision.