Traffic & Transit
State Trooper Injured After Cruiser Struck On I-95 In Stratford
The police cruiser collided with a driver who was driving in reverse in the shoulder and left the scene after the crash, officials said.
STRATFORD, CT — A Connecticut State Police Trooper was hospitalized after his cruiser was struck in a crash with a driver that left the scene early Monday morning on I-95 in Stratford, according to police.
The trooper was traveling south on I-95 in the area of Exit 32 in Stratford around 1 a.m. when a Nissan SUV that was being driven by Jose Lopez Ortiz was reversing and traveling north in the southbound right shoulder of I-95, according to police.
Police said the trooper was trying to merge into the right shoulder to assist with a collision south of Exit 32 when the cruiser collided with the Nissan, which left the scene.
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Lopez Ortiz was stopped about one quarter mile south of the crash scene and arrested, according to police.
Lopez Ortiz, 55, of Bridgeport, was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, improper use of marker plates, evading responsibility, unsafe backing, operating vehicle without a license, and failure to insure vehicle. He was held in lieu of a $10,000 bond.
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The trooper was taken to the hospital for treatment of back, neck and shoulder pain, according to police.
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