Man Who Crashed Into Hospital, Set Himself On Fire Identified

MIDDLETOWN, CT — In a 4 p.m. update, officials identified Steven Ellam as the suspect who intentionally drove his vehicle into the emergency entrance at Middlesex Hospital and then set himself on fire Thursday morning in Middletown. Ellam, 27, had several gas cans inside the vehicle at the time of the crash. Ellam is known to Middletown Police and has a history of arrests, including a violent assault of a woman in 2013.

UPDATE: Man Recorded Crash Into Middlesex Hospital On Facebook Live

Ellam, who lives on Milardo Lane, was transported by LifeStar to the burn center at Bridgeport Hospital. Mayor Dan Drew did not have an update on Ellam’s condition during the press conference, but again said that it was an isolated incident. Police Chief William McKenna said that Ellam was the sole source of the incident and that “Middletown is safe.” Drew said that the investigation is ongoing and they still don’t have a motive and won’t speculate on why Ellam did it. Drew also said that they did not expect to hold another press conference on Thursday.

According to the arrest report for the 2013 domestic violence assault, Ellam told the woman that she had “sinned and now you have to repent, you are going to die," then punched her in the face and knocked her to the ground.

Read Drew’s full statement from the latest press conference below:

“Ellam drove into the sliding glass doors of the walk-in entrance to Middlesex Hospital on Crescent Street. At that point he set himself on fire. Mr. Ellam’s vehicle contained several additional cans filled with flammable liquid. Those are being sampled and tested now. The vehicle has been impounded to a secure facility.

“We evacuated several buildings in the immediate vicinity of the hospital pending a search of the vehicle by the bomb squads. Several homes were evacuated in Mr. Ellam’s neighborhood in Middletown pending a search of his home by the bomb squads and explosive-sniffing dogs. This is a precautionary measure.

“We do not know what Mr. Ellam’s motives were nor will we speculate.

“Though we never had reason to be concerned about the safety of our schools, we called in an additional shift of police officers and they secured public and private schools throughout the community today.

“The Middletown Police, FBI, ATF, CT State Police, Hartford Bomb Squad, US Attorneys Office, State’s Attorneys Office, and the Middletown and State Fire Marshall have worked closely together today processing evidence and interviewing witnesses. I’d like to thank each of them for their quick response and cooperation.

“I’d like to thank the Middletown, South District, and Westfield firefighters who arrived rapidly and suppressed a difficult fire in the hospital’s vestibule. I’d also like to thank Middlesex Hospital for their quick evacuation of patients and staff.

“The investigation is ongoing and we don’t expect to release additional information barring any developments.”

Original post

Emergency crews are on the scene of a car crash at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, according to multiple reports. State and local police bomb squads are on the scene. WFSB 3 reports one person was injured after a car slammed into the hospital and caught fire.

The car crashed into the emergency entrance, according to NBC Connecticut. Mayor Dan Drew said "We will be holding a press conference at noon regarding the emergency at Middlesex Hospital. At this time we don't believe there is any threat to the community and we believe this to be an isolated incident."

This story will be updated when more information is available.