Driver Blames Mask Distracted Her In Newtown School Crash: Police

NEWTOWN, CT — A 59-year-old Naugatuck woman crashed her 2020 Kia Soul into the entrance gate at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dickenson Drive Friday, and she told police that she ran over part of the gate because she was distracted by the face mask she was wearing.

No enforcement action was taken against the driver, who police said did not report the 8:10 a.m. crash until about 4 p.m. that afternoon. No injuries were reported.

"Operator #1 stated she was distracted by her mask while driving," wrote Newtown police in the accident report. "Operator stated her vehicle suffered damage to the driver side front tire and the gate was damaged so that it cannot be used."

Officer Peter Wlasuk, who inspected the damaged gate, wrote that he "observed tire marks on two panels that rise above the ground and are associated with the gate, but separate from the gate itself."

Those two panels "are located on a small median between lanes and are in an area consistent with the description of the incident provided by the operator," he said, adding that he "did not observe any damage to the gate itself."