Audi Vs Stone Sign

Police report that at about 9:43 pm on April 16, motorist Rita Fry, 70, of Brookfield, was driving a 2012 Audi A-4 2.0-T Quattro Premium auto northward near 91 South Main Street, when instead of making a curve to the left in the roadway, she drove straight ahead and collided with a stone sign for Ben’s Mason Supply & Hardware. The impact caused the stone sign to collapse and fall on the auto.

Fry reported no injuries but was transported by the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps to Danbury Hospital for a medical evaluation. Fry received an infraction for failure to maintain the travel lane.

Two Warrants

On the afternoon of April 16, police arrested Jocelyn Grzywacz, 23, of Bethany, on two warrants, charging her with two counts of second-degree failure to appear in court in connection with two separate past incidents.

After processing, police released Grzywacz on combined $1,000 bail for upcoming Connecticut Superior Court court appearances in Danbury and Derby.

DUI Arrest

Police said they received a call about 5:49 pm on April 14 informing them that a motorist was driving erratically at Wasserman Way, so they then sought to find the driver in question.

A short time later, police stopped motorist Jennifer Clark, 55, of Sandy Hook, near the intersection of Berkshire Road and Pearl Street, after which they investigated, charging Clark with driving under the influence and with traveling unreasonably fast.

After processing, Clark was released on $100 bail for an April 30 court arraignment.

Two Charges

After learning that police held warrants for his arrest, Earl Feistel, 61, of Newtown, went to the police station on the night of April 14 and was arrested on two counts of second-degree failure to appear in court, police report. Following arrest processing, police released Feistel on $3,500 bail fort an April 30 court appearance.

Drug Charges

State police report that they were conducting routine seat belt usage compliance checks on the Exit 11 off-ramp for Interstate 84, nears Wasserman Way, about 7 pm on April 13, when a man driving a silver-colored Mercdes-Benz vehicle received a signal to stop from state police, but kept driving.

State police then stopped him to investigate and searched the vehicle, turning up “a large amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia,” state police said.

State police charged Christian Enrique Cedillos, 22, of Bridgeport, with possession of more than one-half ounce of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of narcotics with intent to sell or distribute, traveling unreasonably fast, and disobeying a police officer’s signal to stop.

After arrest processing, state police released Cedillos on $5,000 bail for an April 30 court arraignment.

Branford Woman

Police report that on the morning of April 12, they arrested Kali Kernaghan, 26, of Branford, on a warrant, charging her with second-degree failure to appear in court.

The warrant stems from Kernaghan having failed to appear in court in regard to a summons she received on December 23, 2018, following a traffic stop made by Newtown police. Police held Kernaghan on $500 bail for an April 12 arraignment in Connecticut Superior Court in Danbury.

In court, Kernaghan did not plead to either the failure to appear charge or to an original charge of driving under suspension. She was released on a written promise to appear in court on May 10.

I-84 Rear-Ender

State police report that at about 2:28 pm on April 12, amid heavy traffic conditions, on westbound Interstate 84, east of Exit 9, motorist Robert Schwab, 56, of Torrington, who was driving a 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser, slowed for traffic and was then struck from behind by a 2014 Toyota Corolla sedan driven by Meidy Yanibis Coello-Teruel, 19, of Waterbury.

There were no injuries. State police said Coelleo-Teruel was following too closely and was driving without a license.

Heavy Traffic

State police said that motorist Ashley Erickson, 42, of Southbury, was driving a 2014 Audi Allroad station wagon eastward on Interstate 84, east of Exit 10, about 3:42 pm on April 12, when the Audi slowed and was then struck from behind by a 2016 Hyundai Elantrra driven by Morgan Maichack, 27 of Waterbury.

There were no injuries. State police warned Maichack for following too closely.

Ten People

A two-vehicle accident at the intersection of South Main Street, Meadowbrook Road, and Botsford Hill Road that occurred about 10 pm on the rainy night of April 12, involved ten people, two of whom were transported to a hospital to be checked for possible injuries.

Police report that the crash at the four-way intersection, which is controlled by a functioning traffic signal, involved 2019 Chevrolet Express passenger van driven northward on South Main Street by Stephanie Robinson, 35, of Wappingers Falls, N.Y., and Phoebe Mack, 18, of Sandy Hook, who was driving a 2018 Subaru Impreza auto eastward on Meadowbrook Road. The vehicles collided in the intersection, police said.

The Chevrolet was carrying seven passengers, one of whom was 22, with the six other people ranging from ages 11 to 13. The Subaru carried passenger Lindsay Dievert, 17, of Sandy Hook. The Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps transported Mack and Divert to Danbury Hospital to be checked for possible injuries. The accident is under investigation. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact police at 203-426-5841

Failure To Appear

After learning that police held a warrant for him, Robert Boccuzzi, 29, of Waterbury, went to the police station on the afternoon of April 11 and was charged with second-degree failure to appear in court, police report.

The charge stems from a 2018 motor vehicle stop. Boccuzzi posted $500 bail and was released on April 11 for an April 24 court appearance.

Truck Hits Lexus

According to state police, on April 11, on westbound Interstate 84, about 500 feet west of Exit 10, driver Sean Jarvis, 46, of Manchester, who was driving a 2018 Isuzu NPR truck, struck the rear end of a 2013 Lexus GX-460 SUV driven by Bridget DePasquale-Morabito, 48, of Middlebury.

There were no injuries. Jarvis received an infraction for following too closely.

Ramp Collision

State police report an accident near the end of the Exit 11 off-ramp of interstate 84 at about 3:12 pm on April 11. The two vehicles that were involved in the accident were waiting on the ramp, when motorist Isabella Lopes Andrade Alvarenga, 21, of Brookfield, who was driving a 2013 Nissan Versa, drove forward and struck the rear end of a 2005 Subaru Outback driven by Thoams Altieri, 36, of Milford.

There were no injuries. State police verbally warned Alvarenga for making an unsafe movement.

Two Counts

Police report that on April 10, they traveled to Stratford, where they located Michael Ortiz, 38, of that town, for whom they held two arrest warrants.

Police charged Ortiz with two counts of second-degree failure to appear in court. One warrant stems from Ortiz having left the scene of a motor vehicle accident, and the other warrant stems from his having been driving while his license was under suspension, police said. After booking Ortiz on the two charges, police released him on $3,000 bail for an April 25 appearance in Connecticut Superior Court in Danbury.

Four Vehicles

A four-vehicle chain-reaction crash occurred on westbound Interstate 84 about 7:09 am on April 9.

In that incident, motorist James Ruitto, 28, of Portland, Conn., who was driving a 2017 Ford Escape SUV, struck the rear end of 2016 Lexus NX-200-T SUV driven by Olimpia Cristaldo, 65, of Waterbury, state police said.

The Lexus then struck the rear end of a 2011 Toyota Camry driven by Philip Simplicio, 50, of West Hartford, pushing the Toyota into the rear end of a 2015 Subaru Impreza driven by Noel Kaiser, 59, of Naugatuck.

There were no injuries. Ruitto received an infraction for following too closely.

Toddy Hill Crash

Police report a three-vehicle accident on Toddy Hill Road, just south of its intersection with Turnberry Lane, about 8:53 am on April 9.

The incident resulted in the closure of the northern end of Toddy Hill Road while police investigated and the area was being cleared of vehicles and debris. Motorists used detours to get around the accident scene.

Police said motorist Mark Klass, 22, of Newtown, was driving a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck northward and was drinking coffee when he encountered some stopped traffic in front him. The Chevrolet then struck the rear end of a stopped 2013 Honda CR-V SUV, pushing the Honda into the rear end of a stopped 2007 Subaru Forester.

Motorist Bruce Landgrebe, 74, and passenger Janet Landgrebe, 75, both of Newtown, who were both in the Honda, were transported to Danbury Hospital by the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps to be checked for possible injuries. Motorist Melissa Lev, 33, of Monroe, who was driving the Subaru refused treatment.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company members responded to the scene. Police issued Klass an infraction for following too closely. (A photo of this accident appeared in the April 12 print edition of The Newtown Bee).

Drug Arrest

Police said that while on patrol about 11:45 pm on April 7, they stopped a vehicle on Pecks Lane to investigate.

During the investigation, police identified a person inside that vehicle for whom they held an arrest warrant. That warrant stemmed from a July 2018 incident in which police had stopped a vehicle on Church Hill Road. In that July case, police charged a person under age 18 in connection with their possession of more than 1,000 Xanax-brand tranquilizers, police have said.

Although the person whom police arrested on April 7 on a charge of conspiracy to commit the sale of a controlled substance is now age 18, that person was 17 when the alleged crime was committed, so the person is categorized as a “juvenile,” and their identity is not disclosed by police.

The person arrested on April 7 will be referred to Juvenile Court.

Mazda Hits Guardrails

About 1:26 am on April 6, motorist Gregory Bardinelli, 25, of Southbury, was driving a 2017 Mazda auto southward on The Boulevard, about 300 feet north of its intersection with Hall Lane, when he failed to negotiate a right curve in the roadway, crossed the center line, and drove off the left road shoulder, striking some guardrailing, police said.

There were no injuries. Police issued Bardinelli an infraction for traveling too fast for conditions and for driving an unregistered vehicle.

Emergency Call

A 2016 Ford Explorer SUV owned by the Botsford Fire Rescue Company, which the volunteer fire company uses as its command car, was involved in an accident with a minivan while the Botsford command car was on an emergency call from Old Gate Lane at about 4:16 pm on April 4, police said.

Police said a 2012 Honda Odyssey minivan driven by Maureen Bono Schenfeld, 57, of Easton, which was traveling southbound near 85 South Main Street, came to a stop after a southbound noncontact vehicle, which was traveling in front of the minivan, had come to a stop.

The southbound Botsford fire command car driven by Peter Blomberg, 67, of Newtown, which had its emergency lights and sirens activated, then struck the rear end of the Honda, police said.

There were no injuries. Police verbally warned Schenfeld for obstruction of an emergency vehicle. Police verbally warned Blomberg for driving an unregistered vehicle.

No Details

Following is a list of recent local motor vehicle accidents for which police provided no details.

The accidents include: an April 12 collision at 1:57 pm at 228 South Main Street; an April 12 crash at 2:47 pm near the intersection of Berkshire Road and Wasserman Way; an April 13 accident at 11:52 am near 79 South Main Street; an April 13 collision at 5:46 pm near 115 Church Hill Road; and an April 16 crash at 8:18 am near 144 Sugar Street.