ATV Operator Seriously Injured After Crashing Into Police Cruiser: New Haven PD

NEW HAVEN, CT — An ATV operator was seriously injured after crashing into a police cruiser on Sunday afternoon, police said.

At 3:40 p.m. police had been assigned to a dirtbike/ATV detail to address on-going complaints of riders illegally and recklessly operating in New Haven, police said.

Officers responded to East Rock Park on reports of a group congregating there and that they had 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," police said in a news release.

"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," police said in a prepared statement. "As the cruiser was slowing down, the operator lost control of his ATV, and struck the front passenger side window of the cruiser."

The ATV driver was taken to the hospital and sustained serious injuries.

"This is an unfortunate and stark reminder of the extreme dangers of illegal ATV and dirt bike riding on city streets, both for pedestrians and the operators of the vehicles themselves. Our police officers engaged in a potentially life-saving maneuver on behalf of this family that was in harm's way," said Police Chief Karl Jacobsen in a prepared statement. "While we're glad the family was protected from harm, what happened to the driver is tragic, and we hope for his complete and speedy recovery and we urge the public not to engage in this type of activity."