Police: Van Carrying Disabled Passenger Flips Near Ridge Road

Five people were hospitalized Wednesday after the van in which they were passengers flipped after the driver allegedly blew a stop sign, according to Hamden Police.

At about 2:30 Wednesday police got a report of an accident involving a rollover in the area of Ridge Road and Haverford Street, police spokesman Capt. Ronald Smith said.

When officers got there, they found five passengers trapped in the van, that had come to a stop upside down, Smith said. The passengers were disabled people being transported from a local day camp, he said.

"Officer John Glass, along with Hamden Fire Department personnel and an unidentified good samaritan, were able to free the occupants from the vehicle," Smith said. All were taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital, he said.

According to the preliminary investigation, the operator of the van, Christina Calise, 25, ran a stop sign and collided with a motor vehicle, driven by Thomas Bellonio Sr., that was traveling southbound on Ridge Road, Smith said. 

Bellonio was taken to Yale–New Haven Hospital's Saint Raphael campus with unspecified injuries, Smith said. Calise was cited for Failure to Obey Stop Sign.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hamden Police Department at 203-230-4030.