Driver Killed In Tuesday Grasso Blvd. Crash ID'd As 21-Year-Old West Haven Man: NHPD

NEW HAVEN, CT—A 21-year-old West Haven man was killed in a head-on collision Tuesday morning on Ella T. Grasso Blvd., in the area of Washington Avenue, police said.

According to New Haven police spokesperson Officer Christian Bruckhart, at around 8:40 a.m., police arriving at the crash scene found two involved vehicles, a white Ford Ranger and a black Infiniti G37, in the southbound travel lanes, both with significant damage.

The driver of the Ford was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital, where his injuries were determined to be non-life-threatening.

The driver of the Infinity, Ramy Dasan, 21, of West Haven, was pronounced dead on the scene, Bruckhart said.

The Infiniti passenger, Jonathan Damato, 21, of Shelton, was also taken to the hospital, and he too had non-life-threatening injuries. Damato was found to have seven outstanding arrest warrants for failure to appear in court with bonds totaling more than $645,000, Bruckhart said.

According to Bruckhart and a confirmation to Patch from the state police, the initial investigation showed that a Connecticut State Police officer from Troop G attempted to stop the Infiniti at the I-95 N Grasso exit off-ramp.

"But the vehicle instead fled at a high rate of speed," Bruckhart said, noting that the trooper "did not pursue the vehicle, which was corroborated by video footage from the trooper's dash cam and area surveillance."

The Infinity ultimately lost control and crashed, he said.

After consulting with the New Haven State Attorney's office, it was decided that the incident would be investigated by the New Haven Police Department's Crash Reconstruction Unit.

Police ask that anyone who may have witnessed this incident or made any information of value to investigators call detectives at 203-946-6304 or through the department's anonymous tip line at 866-888-TIPS (8477.)