Man Nearly Hits Cruiser, Police Officer On I-84 In Hartford: Police

HARTFORD/WEST HARTFORD, CT — A 23-year-old New Britain man has been accused by police of driving drunk and nearly plowing into a police cruiser and officer on Interstate 84 in Hartford on Saturday, Dec. 8.

According to Connecticut State Police Monday, Jerry Chungong, 23, of New Britain. was charged with disobeying the signal of an officer; illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol/drugs; failure to drive in the proper lane; failure to slow down/move over for an emergency vehicle; and first-degree reckless endangerment.

Chungong was released on $10,000 bond and is scheduled for arraignment at Hartford Superior Court on Dec. 20.

The suspect was, eventually, pulled over and stopped on I-84 in nearby West Hartford.

According to police, on Saturday, Dec. 7, at approximately 2:30 a.m., two troopers assigned to Troop H- Hartford were dispatched to I-84 westbound in the area of Exit 47 in Hartford to clear debris in the left lane.

In order to safely clear the debris from the roadway, troopers activated their emergency lights and directional arrows to conduct a "slow roll" on the highway.

Police said a "slow roll" refers to a technique where Troopers activate their cruiser's emergency lights and siren, and veer across all travel lanes.

The aim, according to police, is to effectively slow down and/or stop traffic behind them to create a temporary road block, if needed.

After conducting a slow roll to safely stop traffic, troopers stopped and one trooper exited their cruiser to begin clearing the debris from the roadway, police said.

"It was at this time that a gray SUV was observed bypassing the road block nearly side-swiping one of the cruisers before swerving into the left shoulder, where the trooper was standing just inches away from being struck," wrote state police Monday in a release.

The operator of the SUV then continued traveling westbound.

"After ensuring the trooper was uninjured and the debris was cleared from the roadway, one Trooper deactivated their emergency lights and attempted to locate the vehicle," police wrote.

Moments later, the Trooper located the vehicle, determined to be a gray Jeep Grand Cherokee, traveling in the center lane in the area of Exit 44 in West Hartford.

Police said the motorist was "failing to safely maintain its lane."

The trooper activated the emergency lights and siren to initiate a traffic stop.

According to police, the operator failed to immediately stop, but eventually came to a stop in the right shoulder.

Once stopped in the right shoulder, the Jeep began to drive in reverse, nearly striking the cruiser a second time, police wrote.

The other trooper arrived on scene and positioned their cruiser in a manner to prevent the vehicle driving off and potentially causing a collision.

"After ensuring the vehicle was safely stopped, troopers approached the vehicle and began speaking with the operator," police wrote.

During their interaction, Chungong — who was identified as the suspect — displayed signs of impairment and admitted to consuming alcohol prior to driving, wrote police.

Based on these observations, Chungong was asked to participate in field sobriety tests, to which he willingly agreed to perform.

According to police, Chungong failed the tests and was subsequently taken into custody.

For the Connecticut State Police news page, click on this link.