Driver Strikes Police Motorcycle, Flees Scene: Hamden PD

HAMDEN, CT — A driver was arrested after striking a police officer’s motorcycle and fleeing the area after Hamden’s fireworks display late Friday night. At about 10 p.m. on June 28, a Hamden Police officer was performing traffic duty at the intersection of Dixwell Avenue and Shepard Avenue related to the fireworks show. A vehicle that was operated by a 39-year-old Hamden resident was traveling northbound on Dixwell Avenue when it struck the officer’s unoccupied motorcycle and then fled from the area, according to Capt. Ronald Smith.

Smith said Lt. John Sullivan was successful at “stopping the evading vehicle in the vicinity of Dixwell Avenue and Sanford Street, as a large group of people were crossing the street.”

The operator of the vehicle (police didn’t immediately disclose his name) was charged with evading responsibility, misuse of plates, operating without insurance and failure to drive a reasonable distance apart. He was released on a written promise to appear and was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital for a medical evaluation, according to Smith.