Rock Ridge Crash

Motorist Mary Jane Healy, 63, of 34 Rock Ridge Road was driving a 1995 Oldsmobile Aurora southward on Rock Ridge Road about 6:36 am March 5, when the vehicle slid on black ice and went off the road, striking a tree, police said.

Healy was not injured. Police took no action.

Scudder Road

Motorist William Cunningham, 28, of 40 Scudder Road, who was driving a 1996 Toyota Corolla on Scudder Road at about 7:05 am March 5, drove off the right side of the road in an ice storm and struck a tree, police said. Cunningham was not injured. Police verbally warned him for making an improper turn.

Sherman Street Accident

Motorist Wendy Audet, 48, of 23 Hoseye Coach Road, who was driving a 1995 Plymouth Voyager minivan, was traveling westward on Sherman Street about 7:04 am on March 5, when the vehicle skidded on black ice and struck a tree, police said. Audet was not injured, police said.

Palestine Road

Motorist Jack S. Fong, 62, of 2 West Farm Ridge Road, was driving a 1997 Buick LeSabre northward on Palestine Road about 6:44 am March 5, when the auto slid on black ice and struck some rock ledge and trees, police report. Fong was not injured. Police took no action.

Mailbox Fire

Police report that sometime between 7:30 and 7:45 pm on March 7, someone set fire to a residential mailbox at a home at 22 Merlin’s Lane. A neighbor spotted the fire and put out the burning mailbox, police said. The crime is third degree criminal mischief. Police ask anyone with information about the vandalism to contact them at 426-5841.

 

Hawleyville Accident

Police report that motorist David Lamont, 53, of Bethel was driving a 2000 Saturn station wagon on Mt Pleasant Road, near Hawleyville Road, on the morning of March 8, when he struck head-on motorist Isabel Vaz, 31, of Danbury, who was driving a 1993 Acura. There were no injuries, police said.

Lamont drove away and was later stopped in Bethel by Bethel police who charged him with driving under the influence, Newtown police said.

After Bethel police released Lamont, Newtown police charged him with evading responsibility and making an improper turn in connection with the Hawleyville accident, police said.

Newtown police held Lamont in the police lockup on a $1,500 bond for a March 10 appearance in Danbury Superior Court.

School Bus Accident

An accident between a school bus carrying eight students and a sedan occurred on Westwood Terrace during slippery road conditions at about 8:18 am March 5, police said.

Police said a 1991 Saab 900 driven by Clifford W. Kraich, 48, of 17 Sawmill Ridge Road skidded on the icy roadway and traveled across both lanes, hitting the school bus operated by Lereine M. Frampton, 45, of 6 Pebble Road. There were no injuries, police said. Both vehicles were driven from the scene.

After they investigated the collision, police issued Kraich an infraction ticket on a charge of failure to drive to the right on a curve.

The start of school had been delayed by 90 minutes that morning due to icy conditions. The inclement weather resulted in about ten motor vehicle accidents in town.

Hattertown Crash

Motorist Richard J. Pacheco, 49, of 4 Old Purdy Station Road, who was driving a 2002 Mitsubishi DLS sedan northward on Hattertown Road near Abbotts Hill Road during an ice storm about 5:44 am March 5, drove off the right side of the road and struck a tree, police report.

Ambulance volunteers transported Pacheco to Danbury Hospital for treatment of possible internal injuries, police said. Police said they issued Pacheco a written warning for making a restricted turn.

Mercury Vs Volvo

At about 4:07 pm March 7, motorist Wallace Petro, 82, of Peekskill, N.Y., who was driving a 2001 Mercury sedan, was traveling toward the Blue Colony Diner parking lot on Church Hill Road, but did not yield the right of way to motorist Cheryl Groesbick, 56, of Shelton, who was driving a 1999 Volvo V-70, police said. The two vehicles collided.

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

Pilgrim Lane

Motorist Debra Sennefelder, 38, of 11 Pilgrim Lane, who was driving a 1994 Ford Explorer at about 10:35 am March 8, was exiting an icy driveway at that address, when the Ford collided with motorist Michael Trammel, 39, of Danbury, who was driving a 1991 Acura Integra eastward on Pilgrim Lane, police said.

There were no injuries. Police issued Sennefelder a written warning for failure to grant the right of way at a driveway. Police issued Trammel a written warning for failure to carry a driver’s license and failure to carry an automotive insurance identification card.

Marijuana Charge

Police report they charged Vincent W. Grabowski, 38, of 14 Turkey Hill Road on March 8 with possession of less than four ounces of marijuana and with possession of drug paraphernalia. Police released Grabowski on a promise to appear March 27 in Danbury Superior Court to answer the charges.

Warner Pond

Sometime between March 7 and 9 someone stole a 14-foot-long aluminum canoe, which had been kept at the shoreline of Warner Pond, off Old Mill Road in Sandy Hook, police said. The thief dragged the canoe across the frozen pond to Old Mill Road and then took it from the area, police report. The pond is state property. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact police at 426-5841.

Criminal Mischief

 After learning that police held a warrant for his arrest, Daniel Lombardo, 16, of Brookfield turned himself over to police on March 10 and was charged with nine counts of third degree criminal mischief.

Police said that on January 25, Lombardo and another unidentified person damaged or destroyed nine mailboxes along Old Bethel Road by striking the mailboxes with a baseball bat from a motor vehicle. Police investigated a witness’s account of the incident. Police released Lombardo on a promise to appear March 25 in Danbury Superior Court.

 

Trespassing

Police charged two West Haven men with simple trespassing on March 9 for driving all-terrain vehicles at the D’Addario Sand and Stone Company, Inc’s, sand and gravel mine off 9 Button Shop Road. Police charged Scott Atkins, 31, and Mathieu Atkins, 24. Both men are scheduled to appear March 14 in Danbury Superior Court to answer the charges.

Icy Road

Motorist Joana Matu, 39, of Shelton, was driving a 1999 Nissan Maxima eastward on Wasserman Way, just east of its intersection with Nunnawauk Road, at about 6:27 am March 10, when she encountered an icy area, went into a skid, and struck metal guardrailing along the eastbound road shoulder, police said.

Matu was not injured. Police verbally warned her for driving at a speed too fast for conditions.

Mt Pleasant Ice

Motorist Nannig Morrow, 61, of 31 Old Bethel Road was driving a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu eastward on Mt Pleasant Road at about 6:13 pm March 9, when the vehicle went out of control on ice on a downward slope, struck a stop sign, went onto a traffic island near Johnnie Cake Lane, and then went onto Johnnie Cake Lane, police said.

Morrow was not injured. Police took no enforcement.

 

Schoolhouse Hill Road

Motorist Douglas Nelson, 55, of 14 The Boulevard was driving a 2001 Pontiac Gran Prix eastward on Schoolhouse Hill Road at about 7:13 am March 5, when while negotiating a curve, he slid on some ice, drove off the eastbound shoulder, and came to rest in a wooded area, police said. Nelson was not injured. Police verbally warned him for traveling too fast for conditions.

Cell Phone In Jeep

 Police report a two-Jeep accident on March 10 on Pearl Street, a private road in the Tilson Woods residential subdivision in Sandy Hook.

Police said motorist Jeffrey LaFlamme, 17, of 10 Arlyn Ridge Road was driving a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee eastward, as motorist Barbara Dittmar, 44, of 6 Bishop Circle was driving a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee westward at about 7:21 am.

LaFlamme dropped a cellular telephone in the 1998 Jeep and leaned over to pick it up, police said. As LaFlamme did so, the 1998 Jeep drifted into the oncoming lane and sideswiped the 2000 Jeep driven by Dittmar, police said.

There were no injuries or enforcement actions taken, police said.

Fire Truck Accident

During a period of freezing rain on the morning of Wednesday, March 5, a Sandy Hook fire truck traveling on a mutual aid call to Southbury was involved in an accident on an icy Glen Road, police report.

Sandy Hook firefighter Michael Burton, who was driving fire pumper #441 northward on Glen Road, about 1,000 feet south of its intersection with Cherry Street, spotted a motorist up ahead on the road whose auto had skidded and had become disabled in the icy conditions, police said.

The unidentified motorist was waving off the approaching fire truck to prevent a collision, and Burton applied the fire truck’s brakes and the fire truck went into a skid on the icy road, police said.

The fire truck came to rest perpendicularly across Glen Road, with its rear end wedged against metal guardrailing along the southbound road shoulder, damaging the rear step of the fire truck.

The fire truck and the auto did not collide in the mishap, and there were no injuries, police said.

Following the 6:49 am accident, police closed the icy Glen Road for more than two hours until conditions improved and it became safe to travel there again.

Before the mishap, the fire truck had been heading to Southbury on a mutual aid call to assist Southbury firefighters, who were then handling a major hazardous materials accident on an icy Interstate 84.

DUI Charge

After learning that police held a warrant for his arrest, Adam D. Gruendig, 21, of 6 Plumtrees Road, turned himself over to police on March 11 and was charged with driving under the influence.

About 1 am on February 5, Gruendig, who was driving a 1995 Volkswagen Jetta southward on Taunton Lane, lost control of the sedan, hit a snowbank, rolled over, struck a rock, and then hit two trees, with auto coming to rest on its passenger side, police reported. After that crash, Newtown ambulance staffers transported Gruendig to Danbury Hospital for treatment of injuries, according to police.

On March 11, Gruendig posted a $100 bond and was released for a March 27 appearance in Danbury Superior Court to answer the charge, police said.

 

Burglary/Larceny

Police report that sometime overnight on March 11–12, someone burglarized the office building at 49 South Main Street, which formerly was occupied by Newtown Oil Company, and stole several computers from the premises. Police learned of the incident midday on March 12.

Police ask anyone with information on the crime to contact them at 426-5841.

Drug Charges

Police report they lodged drug charges against two teenagers on the night of March 12.

Police said they charged Kimberly Rosenthal, 19, of West Haven with possession of less than four ounces of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police charged Beatrice C. Berg, 17, of 5 John Beach Road with possession of less than four ounces of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to retain a prescription medication in its original container.

After processing the arrests at the police station, police released both teenagers from custody about 11:40 pm on written promises to appear in Danbury Superior Court on March 26 to answer the charges. Information on the circumstances that led to the charges was not available from police on the morning of March 13.