Man Charged After Nearly Causing Crashes On I-91 In Hartford: Police

HARTFORD, CT — An Enfield man has been charged with drunk/reckless driving after state police said he was seen speeding and nearly hitting vehicles on Interstate 91 in Hartford Thursday morning.

According to Connecticut State Police, Anthony Benvenuto, 54, of Enfield and Maine, was charged with illegal operation of a motor vehicle without minimum insurance; reckless driving; illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs; failure to maintain proper lane; and illegal operation of a motor vehicle in violation of license classification.

He was being held on $25,000 bond and was scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on Friday, Nov. 15.

Police said, at about 7:06 a.m., a trooper out of Troop H in Hartford was patrolling I-91 South near Exit 33 in Hartford.

According to state police, the trooper was patrolling the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane with its stationary cruise lights activated when they were passed by a Chevrolet pickup truck in the left travel lane.

The trooper reported the pickup was traveling between the left lane of the highway and the swale of the HOV lane, police said.

The officer noticed the pickup was "continuing to accelerate and moving erratically across the lanes, from left to right, nearly colliding with other vehicles," police said.

The trooper, police said, positioned the cruiser behind the pickup and noticed other, unsafe lane changes, utilizing the HOV swale.

Eventually, the trooper conducted a traffic stop on the right shoulder of I-91 near Exit 33 and noticed signs of impairment by the suspect.

Police said Benevuto failed field sobriety tests on the scene and was, subsequently, taken into police custody.

Police said Benevuto had a prior DUI arrest with Troop H.

For the state police news page, click on this link.