Four Officers' Cars Damaged as Truck Loses Driveshaft

A refuse truck driving west on Route 2A on Friday lost its driveshaft just past the Montville Police station, and the mechanism went spinning into the police station parking lot, damaging four officers' personal cars and nearly hitting an officer crossing the lot.

Lt. Leonard J. Bunnell said he has long been worried about something like this happening. The police station and parking lot sit at the very edge of the roadway. In the past, snow from plows has caused damage, but this is the only time an event of this magnitude has occurred.

It was a very close call with the officer, Bunnell said. The spinning shaft nearly hit him and "he got covered with grease."

The damage to the officers' personal cars ran the gamut from dents to broken windshields.

"Had this been a split second earlier," Bunnell said, "it would have gone through the front window of the police station, or dispatch."