Rental Car Employee Struck By Fleeing Vehicle At Bradley Airport: CSP

WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — A trio of Massachusetts residents was arrested late Wednesday afternoon on the grounds of Bradley International Airport following an incident in which fraudulent identification was used to try and rent a car, resulting in minor injuries to a Hertz employee who was struck by a vehicle as the suspects attempted to flee, according to state police.

The incident began shortly before 6 p.m., when state police were called to the rental car location on Schoephoester Road upon a report of a suspicious man attempting to rent a car using a fake ID. When troopers approached, two men fled on foot, with one getting into a Hyundai Genesis parked nearby containing a woman passenger, according to a state police report.

The operator put the Hyundai into reverse, striking a Volvo sport utility vehicle owned by Hertz, which subsequently struck an employee of the rental car company. The employee was treated for minor injuries at an area hospital, police said.

The driver then attempted to exit the grounds, but the Hyundai became disabled when the driver tried to ram the exit gate system, according to a report.

The driver, Michael Dunton, 42, and passenger, Nichole Dupuis, 34, both of Ludlow, Mass., were removed from the vehicle without further incident. The second man, David Fratini Jr., 35, of Three Rivers, Mass., fled on foot, but was detained shortly thereafter on airport property, according to a report.

Dunton was charged with three counts of second-degree criminal mischief, as well as possession of a controlled substance, use of drug paraphernalia, criminal impersonation, interfering with an officer, third-degree assault on an elderly/other victim, second-degree reckless endangerment and evading responsibility. Bond was set at $100,000.

Fratini was charged with interfering with an officer and use of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $10,000, and he and Dunton were both scheduled to appear Thursday in Hartford Superior Court.

Dupuis was charged with possession of a controlled substance and use of drug paraphernalia, and was released on a $2,500 nonsurety bond. She is due in court Aug. 25.