North Haven Man Crashed Into Police Cruiser, Arrested: State PD

MERIDEN, CT — A North Haven man has been arrested in connection with a crash on I-91 in Meriden last month that sent a state trooper to the hospital, according to Connecticut State Police.

Police said a Connecticut State Police cruiser was parked in the right shoulder of I-91 North near Exit 16 behind a disabled motor vehicle around 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 14.

“The cruiser had all emergency lights activated when a vehicle left its designated travel lane, entered into the right shoulder, and struck the rear bumper of the cruiser,” police wrote in a news release.

The trooper was taken to the hospital for further evaluation of injuries police said weren’t life-threatening.

A 30-year-old North Haven resident was driving the vehicle that struck the cruiser, according to police. The man suffered minor injuries and was taken to the hospital for further evaluation, police said.

The man told police that he looked down at the GPS on his phone before crashing into the police cruiser, according to the arrest warrant.

The man was arrested March 17 on charges of reckless driving, failure to maintain lane, following too closely resulting in an accident, failure to move over for an emergency vehicle, and operating a motor vehicle while using a handheld device. He was released after posting a $5,000 bond with a court date of March 28.