Student Improving But Still Critical

An Oxford High School senior who was involved in a three-car accident Monday morning is improving at the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven, police said.

Anthony Inzitari, 18, of 22 Old Country Road in Oxford, was critically injured during the accident that occurred on Route 188 about a mile from the high school around 7:45 a.m. Monday, according to a police report of the incident on file at the Oxford Resident Trooper's Office.

As of early Wednesday evening, he was still listed in critical condition and was recovering in the intensive care unit at the hospital, Resident Trooper Sgt. Dan Semosky said.

The accident occurred as Inzitari was on his way to the high school. The 2002 Volkswagen Golf he was driving struck the rear of a backhoe driven by an Oxford town employee, who was not injured. The Volkswagen then spun around, entered the opposite lane and struck a 1999 Ford F250 driven by Chad Lapointe, 36, of Seymour, who was treated and released for minor, non-life-threatening injuries at Bridgeport Hospital.

Inzitari's car was barely recognizable following the accident, and the engine of the Volkswagen was laying in the middle of the road following the crash. He was extricated from the car by Oxford volunteer firefighters and transported to the hospital by Oxford volunteer emergency medical technicians.

The accident was the second one Inzitari was involved in during the month of November. He struck a car driven by another high school student and was cited for not stopping at a stop sign on Nov. 13. Nobody was injured in the accident.

Because of a recent rash of car accidents involving young people, including two fatalities and Monday's crash, police and the Oxford Board of Education are teaming up to provide driver safety programs for high school students next week. All students who park at the high school are required to take the class or risk losing their parking privileges.