Castle Hill Accident

About 2 pm on January 4, while traveling westward on Castle Hill Road, motorist Cynthia Strait of 150 Head O’ Meadow, who was driving a 2003 Saturn Vue, was negotiating a curve in the road and lost control of the vehicle on the snow-covered pavement, police said. The Saturn then went off the right road shoulder.

The Saturn struck a tree alongside the road. Strait reported pain and was transported by ambulance volunteers to Danbury Hospital for treatment, police said. Hook & Ladder firefighters went to the accident. Police said Strait received an infraction ticket for making a restricted turn.

Pickup Hits Minivan

About 7:47 am on January 4, motorist Donald Nowacki, 65, of 15 Gelding Hill Road, who was driving a 2005 Honda Odyssey minivan, was stopped at a red traffic signal on westbound Botsford Hill Road at its intersection with South Main Street, police said.

Motorist Robert E. Klein, Jr, 19, of Monroe, who was driving a 1998 Ford Ranger pickup truck westward on Botsford Hill Road, could not stop on the icy road surface and slid into the rear end of the minivan, police said.

There were no injuries. Police issued Klein a written warning for driving an unreasonable distance apart.

School Bus Crash

Police report a minor accident involving a school bus and a commercial van on an icy Great Ring Road about 8:30 am on January 4. The bus was carrying 18 elementary school children. There were no injuries, police said.

Police said the school bus, which was driven by Fred Pendergast, 72, of 23 Riverside Road, was stopped in the southbound lane near 65 Great Ring Road while picking up a student.

Southbound motorist Frank Viglione, 31, of New Haven, who was driving a 1995 Ford commercial van, then slid on the icy roadway and struck the rear end of the bus, according to police.

Police issued Viglione a written warning for driving an unreasonable distance apart.

Toyota Vs Acura

A two-vehicle collision occurred on South Main Street near Appleblossom Lane about 5:30 pm January 4.

Northbound motorist Lynda Russo, 41, of 37 Oak Ridge Drive, who was driving a 2001 Acura MDX, stopped for traffic conditions and was then struck from behind by northbound motorist Jay Romanelli, 19, of 18 Taunton Ridge Road, who was driving a 1995 Toyota Tercel, police report.

There were no injuries. Hook & Ladder firefighters went to the scene to do spilled automotive fluids cleanup work. Police issued Romanelli an infraction ticket for failure to drive a reasonable distance apart.

Bennetts Bridge

Police report a one-vehicle accident near the intersection of Bennetts Bridge Road and Mountain Manor Road about 6:44 am on January 3.

Motorist Gary Milas, 49, of 82 Lakeview Terrace, who was driving a 1998 Toyota 4-Runner northward on Bennetts Bridge Road, encountered heavy slush, resulting in the vehicle drifting and going out of control, police said. The Toyota went off the road, traveled down into a ditch and struck two trees, police said. Milas was not injured. Police took no enforcement.

Drug Arrests

Police report they charged two youths with drug offenses about 11 pm on January 7, following an incident on Glen Road.

After a vehicle being driven by Meaghan Stuke, 18, of Prospect was seen crossing over the road’s center line, police stopped it to investigate.

Police then called in their dog to investigate and search for drugs. The dog allegedly found several bags of marijuana and several pieces of drug paraphernalia, according to police.

Police charged Stuke with possession of less than four ounces of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of alcohol by a minor in a motor vehicle, failure to drive to the right, and failure to carry a driver’s license. Police released Stuke on $250 bail for a January 24 court appearance.

An unidentified passenger in the vehicle of unspecified gender also was charged in the incident, according to police.

Police arrested that person, who they categorized as a “youthful offender,” on charges of possession of less than four ounces of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. That person was released on a written promise to appear in court on January 24.

A new state law expands the age range during which criminal defendants’ identities are shielded from public disclosure, increasing the age of disclosure from age 16 to age 18. Thus, the passenger who was arrested as a “youthful offender” was either age 16 or age 17.

Truck Hits Tree

Motorist Theodore Stoica, 35, of Monroe was driving a 2005 Dodge Ram pickup truck southward near 277 South Main Street about 9:46 pm on January 8, when the vehicle went out of control and struck a tree, police report.

Firefighters, as well as ambulance volunteers, went to the accident scene, police said. Stoica was transported to Danbury Hospital for treatment of injuries, according to police. The accident is under investigation.

Icy Road

Motorist Roseann Mason, 45, of 44 Maltbie Road, who was driving a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee southward on Washbrook Road about 12:13 am January 8, slid on the icy road on a curve and struck a tree, police report. Mason was not injured. Police took no enforcement.

Intersection Collision

Two automobiles collided at the intersection of Route 34 and Wasserman Way about 9:12 am January 5.

The accident involved motorist Erica Helsel, 17, of 28 Pleasant Hill Road, who had been driving a 2001 Honda Civic on Wasserman Way, and motorist Glenn Hopper, 43, of Southbury, who had been driving a 1987 Chevrolet Nova on Route 34, police said.

There were no injuries. Police issued Helsel a written warning for failure to obey a traffic control signal.

Truck Vs Truck

An accident involving a tractor-trailer truck and a private pickup truck with a snowplow attached to it occurred about 4 pm on January 2 at the intersection of Route 34 and Wasserman Way.

Trucker Eduardo Percovich, 49, of Tampa, Fla., who was driving a 2006 Freightliner tractor-trailer truck, attempted to turn left from Route 34 onto Wasserman Way and collided with a stopped 2003 Ford pickup truck with attached snowplow, which was driven by Rance Thompson, 33, of Southbury, police said. The Ford was stopped at a red traffic signal at the time, police said.

There were no injuries. Police issued Percovich a written warning for making a restricted turn.

Saturn Crash

Motorist Brian Husvar, 24, of 23 Pootatuck Trail was driving a 1999 Saturn SL-2 eastward near 28 Schoolhouse Hill Road early on the morning of January 6, when the vehicle went out of control, hit a snowbank, and then climbed metal guardrailing along the right road shoulder, police said. The auto partially came to rest on the railing, police said. Husvar secured the vehicle and left the scene, police said.

There were no injuries. After investigating, police issued Husvar an infraction for making a restricted turn and for traveling too fast for conditions.

Honda Vs Dodge

About 11 am January 6, motorist Timothy Hoeffel, 22, of 12 Old Green Road, who was driving a 1996 Honda Accord coupe, attempted to make a left turn from a driveway at 172 Mt Pleasant Road onto that road, but the Honda collided with a westbound state-owned 2001 Dodge Stratus driven by David Cohen, 46, of Chester, police said. There were no injuries. Police issued Hoeffel an infraction for failure to grant the right of way.

Theft From Vehicle

State police report they learned about 8 am January 8, that a New Milford woman’s vehicle, which had been parked at the Hawleyville Road commuter parking lot for Exit 9 of Interstate 84, had been forcibly entered and items were stolen. The crime committed was fourth degree larceny. State police are investigating.

DUI Arrest

State police report that following a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 84, west of Exit 9, about 4 am on January 7, they charged motorist Gladys Garcia, 32, of Meriden with driving under the influence and with failure to drive in the proper lane. After posting $500 bail, Garcia was released for a January 23 court appearance.

Payment Offense

Police said that after learning that police held a warrant for his arrest, Richard Blomberg, 45, of 32 Brushy Hill Road turned himself over to them at the police station about 6:30 pm on January 7, and was charged with failure to a return a payment.

Police said the warrant was issued by the court on behalf of the state attorney general’s office in connection with a consumer protection matter.

After posting $4,000 bail, Blomberg was released for a January 24 appearance in Danbury Superior Court.

Honda Vs Building

About 10 am on January 7, a 2001 Honda Civic driven by Maggie Hemingway, 16, of 10 Overlook Knoll collided with a commercial building at 34 Church Hill Road, police said. Hemingway was not injured. Police took no enforcement.

DUI Arrest

Police report that at about 7 pm on January 8, they learned of a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of South Main Street and Sugar Street, in which the offending motorist had driven away from the scene of the crash.

Police said motorist Mary Slingerland, 42, of 14 Crossbrook Road caused the accident at the intersection, after which she allegedly drove away from the scene of the crash, traveling southward on South Main Street.

Police said they found and stopped Slingerland on South Main Street, near Sand Hill Plaza, and performed field sobriety tests, after which they charged her with driving under the influence, evading responsibility, and making an improper turn.

After processing the arrest, police released Slingerland on $5,000 bail for a January 24 arraignment in Danbury Superior Court.

SUV Vs SUV

Police report an accident involving two sport-utility vehicles about 8:20 pm on January 9 on South Main Street, near its intersection with Wills Road.

Motorist James Connolly, 39, of Monroe was driving a 2004 Nissan Pathfinder southward on South Main Street, when he encountered a group of deer that had entered the roadway, police said.

Connolly slowed the Nissan abruptly to avoid striking the deer, police said.

Southbound motorist Brian Silverlieb, 58, of 21 Platts Hill Road, who was driving a 2001 Mercedes-Benz ML-320, attempted to stop, but could not, and struck the rear end of the Nissan, police said. There were no injuries. The deer were not struck by the Nissan.

Police issued Silverlieb a written warning for failure to drive a reasonable distance apart.

Bracelet Found

Police report that a gold bracelet was found in the rear parking lot of Town Hall South at 3 Main Street. Police received the bracelet for safekeeping on January 11.

The owner should contact Sergeant Darlene Froehlich at the police station to claim the item, telephone 426-5841.

Jewelry Theft

Police report that following an investigation, they arrested Catherine O’Grady, 34, of 54 Great Ring Road on a warrant on January 11, charging her with first degree larceny, which is a Class B felony.

Police allege that during the period from March through December 2005, O’Grady stole jewelry items, with an aggregate value exceeding $10,000. Police said they received a complaint on the matter from a family member of O’Grady.

After processing the arrest, police released O’Grady on bail for a January 24 appearance in Danbury Superior Court.