DUI Driver Crashed Into Police Cruiser: Wallingford Police

WALLINGFORD, CT — A Waterbury man was arrested after police said he was driving under the influence when he crashed into a Wallingford police cruiser on I-91 last Saturday.

Wallingford police responded to I-91 North in the area of Exit 15 on Aug. 10 to help Connecticut State Police with diverting traffic off the highway for a major collision they were investigating, according to Lt. Stephen Jaques.

Jaques said one officer used his marked police cruiser with its emergency lights activated to block off the left and middle travel lanes to direct traffic off the exit.

While the officer was in the cruiser, Jaques said a red 2005 GMC Sierra pickup truck was traveling northbound between 65-80 mph when it collided into the police cruiser in its passenger side.

The driver of the Sierra wasn’t injured, but Jaques said the officer sustained minor injuries. There were no passengers in either vehicle, according to Jaques.

“Immediately following the collision, additional officers responded to the scene and determined that the driver of the Sierra was intoxicated,” Jaques wrote in a news release.

The driver was identified as 52-year-old Jesse Benefield of Waterbury.

Benefield was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, disobeying an officer’s signal, traveling unreasonably fast, and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license. He was released after posting a $5,000 bond with a court date of Aug. 23.