Man, 53, Charged In Crash That Seriously Injured Stonington Officer

STONINGTON, CT — Arrested at L+M Hospital, a 53-year-old Plainfield man has been charged with traffic violations after his red Toyota convertible slammed into a parked Stonington police cruiser Monday. That crash saw police Sgt. Mario Ritacco airlifted via LifeStar to RI Hospital's trauma center for treatment of serious injuries. Ritacco was working a road job detail on his regular day off. Read that full story here.

Police charged David L. MacCracken with reckless driving, among other traffic charges. But, as noted by Stonington Police Deputy Chief Todd Olson, those charges may soon be joined by others from the Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crime bureau as the case investigation continues.

The police report, signed by Lt. Tim Marley, reads that the first call came in at 11:09 a.m. about an erratic driver on Rt. 184 traveling east. The report reads that the driver of the red car ran a red light and was at one point was traveling in the wrong lane. Three minutes later, a 911 call was received that a vehicle struck a police car, which then struck the police officer, Sgt. Ritacco.

The report reads that the car MacCracken was driving at a high rate of speed, passing other cars in a no passing zone, and running a light, when he approached Taugwonk Road where Ritacco was directing traffic. MacCracken's car struck the police cruiser, which was parked facing west, "head-on," the report reads. "The victim was then struck by his own police cruiser."

MacCracken was charged with reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, passing in a no passing zone, and failure to drive in the right lane. While in the hospital being treated for injures he sustained in the crash, MacCracken was issued a misdemeanor summons and was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond with a court date of March 1.

SPD report on MacCracken ch... by Ellyn Santiago

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