Man Intentionally Drove At People On Sidewalk After Fight Inside Club In New Haven: Police

NEW HAVEN, CT — A 19-year-old driver is accused of trying to hit people on a sidewalk after fighting with another man at a nightclub early Sunday morning in New Haven, according to police.

At around 1:25 a.m. on April 19, New Haven police saw two men fighting each other in front of Rumaj at 216 Crown St. Police said the men were later identified as 22-year-old John Hay of West Haven and 19-year-old Brayden Chance of South Glastonbury.

Officers determined that both men were arguing inside Rumaj and began fighting, according to police.

Police said officers at the time determined that Hay was the initial aggressor and threw the first punch. Hay was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, according to police.

About 20 minutes later, police said officers received several reports of a person being hit by a car on College Street by the entrance / exit to the parking garage.

Officers found the victim, a 20-year-old woman from Milford, who was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital where police said her injuries were determined to be non-life-threatening.

“Video taken by bystanders showed a black Mercedes driving on College Street when it appears to intentionally drive at people standing on the sidewalk,” police wrote in a news release. “In the video, the operator, later identified as Chance, strikes another vehicle which was parked on the street and a wall for the garage, in addition to the victim. Chance then backs up and again attempted to hit pedestrians on the sidewalk.

“Officers were able to determine that Chance was leaving the area when he saw a group of people who were with Hay and attempted to hit them with his car. The victim was unaffiliated with either Hay or Chance.”

Police said officers weren’t able to find Chance on the same evening, but were able to determine he was the driver and obtained an arrest warrant for him.

Chance turned himself in on Thursday. He was charged with two counts of criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, and one count each of first-degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, evading responsibility, and third-degree criminal mischief. He was being held in lieu of a $350,000 bond.

“This incident goes far beyond what we normally see in the entertainment district and is completely unacceptable,” New Haven Police Chief David Zannelli said in a statement. “I want to commend the officers who worked quickly, first to render aid to the injured woman during a chaotic scene, then taking the offender into custody within days, as well as the community for assisting us with the investigation. We are deploying additional officers to our downtown area for bar detail and while we encourage people to come enjoy our downtown night life responsibly, we are not going to tolerate any criminal behavior.”