Teen Critically Injured In Overnight Single Car Crash Into Pole: PD

NEW HAVEN, CT — A teen driver of a stolen car was critically injured when the vehicle struck a utility pole on Quinnipiac Avenue by Hemingway Avenue overnight Thursday, police said.

When New Haven police and firefighters arrived at around 3 a.m., they found a Hyundai Elantra located partially off the roadway into the northern lane embankment, according to a New Haven police post on "X."

The driver, a juvenile from New Haven, had to be extricated by the fire department and was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he is listed in critical condition, police said.

A second occupant of the car left the vehicle and fled on foot, police said.

The preliminary investigation determined the vehicle was traveling south on Quinnipiac when it crossed into an oncoming lane, left the roadway before crashing into a utility pole, police said. The vehicle's ignition was tampered with, police said, and it was later determined to have been stolen.

The New Haven Police Department Accident Reconstruction Team responded to investigate.

Anyone who may have witnessed the crash or have information useful for investigators is asked to call police at 203-946-6304 or via the department's anonymous tip line at 866-888-TIPS (8477.)