Struck Utility Pole

Newtown Police report Vinicius da Silva, 23, of Danbury, operating a 2006 Honda Civic, was traveling on Hattertown Road at 11:06 pm April 3. The vehicle left the roadway and struck a utility pole. Da Silva then removed the vehicle from the scene prior to police arrival. Da Silva later told police he was delivering food and began to fall asleep.

No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed.

Da Silva was arrested for evading responsibility for property damage, and failure to maintain the proper lane.

Conflicting Stories

Newtown Police report Richard Baczewski, 49, of Oxford, operating a 2011 Honda Ridgeline, was traveling in the middle lane on Wasserman Road at the intersection of Berkshire Road, which is a right turn lane, at 4:48 pm April 4. Samantha Marcial, 26, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., operating a 2015 Fiat 500, was in the right lane, which is also a right turn lane onto Berkshire Road.

Upon the green light, Baczewski told police he began to turn right within his lane, and Marcial took the lane too wide and sideswiped his vehicle. Marcial said Baczewski took the turn too tightly and sideswiped her vehicle. Police said damage to the vehicles was too minor for any physical evidence to be left to determine who deviated from their lane.

No injuries were reported. Neither vehicle was towed.

No fault was determined for the incident due to conflicting stories and lack of evidence.

Found Ear Buds

Newtown Police report that on April 6, a pair of white ear buds was located at the Nettleton Preserve at 13 Castle Hill Road.

Anyone with information or wishing to claim the item is asked to contact the Newtown Police Department at 203-426-5841.

Collision In Intersection

Newtown police report David Golembeski, 39, of Newtown, operating a 2025 Chevrolet Silverado, was traveling eastbound on Country Club Road at the intersection with South Main Street at 11:23 am April 7. Frederick Pendergast, 61, of Sandy Hook, operating a 1995 International 4000, was traveling southbound on South Main Street. Golembeski entered the southbound travel lane of South Main Street when it was unsafe and struck the rear of Pendergast’s vehicle.

No injuries were reported. Neither vehicle was towed.

Golembeski was issued an infraction for failure to grant right of way.

Hit Utility Pole

Newtown Police report Dennis Salzbrunn, 32, of Ridgefield, was traveling northbound on South Main Street at 3:26 pm April 7. Salzbrunn’s vehicle swerved off the right-hand side of the road and struck a utility pole.

No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed.

No enforcement action is mentioned in the report.

Backed Into Car

Newtown Police report Laurie Anderson, 61, of Gaylordsville, operating a US Postal Service vehicle, was traveling west on Botsford Hill Road in the westbound lane at 3 pm April 9. She was traveling ahead of a 2024 Jeep Wrangler operated by Ava Warner, 17, of Sandy Hook. Anderson backed up into Warner’s vehicle.

Anderson was evaluated on the scene for a possible injury but declined transport. Neither vehicle was towed.

Anderson was issued a verbal warning for unsafe backing.

Three Car Collision

Newtown Police report Kevin Braun, 74, of Newtown, operating a 2013 BMW 328xi, was traveling northbound on South Main Street and was attempting to make a left turn towards Country Club Road at 4:22 pm April 9. Krysta Pierzchala, 38, of Newtown, operating a 2020 Subaru Impreza, was traveling southbound on South Main Street in the straight travel lane.

Elisabeth Douglass, 57, of Newtown, operating a 2022 Toyota Corolla, was traveling eastbound on Country Club Road and came to a stop at the stop sign at the intersection with South Main Street. Braun drove through the stopped southbound left turn only lane and entered into the southbound straight lane when the front of the vehicle made contact with the left front section of Pierzchala’s vehicle. Both vehicles continued to travel and the front ends of both vehicles struck the front of Douglass’ vehicle.

No injuries were reported. Braun’s and Pierzchala’s vehicles were towed.

Braun was issued an infraction for making an improper turn.

Backed Into Each Other

Newtown Police report Joseph Kugielsky, 75, of Newtown, operating a 2008 Toyota Prius, was attempting to back out of marked parking space in the lot of the community center at 5:02 pm April 9. Nicholas Scataglini, 17, of Newtown, operating a 2005 Toyota Corolla, was attempting to pull from a spot in the same parking lot. The two vehicles backed into each other.

No injuries were reported. Neither vehicle was towed.

No enforcement action was taken since the incident occurred on private property.

Pulled Into Traffic, Hit Car

Newtown Police report Cheryl Clark, 70, of Newtown, operating a 2024 Honda CR-V, was stopped in traffic eastbound on Mt Pleasant Road at 5:05 pm April 10. Tami Burk, 46, of Bethel, operating a 2010 Ford Escape, was traveling northbound on Sawmill Road and began to turn onto the westbound lane of Mt Pleasant Road. Clark turned left towards Hawleyville Road and struck Burk’s vehicle.

No injuries were reported. Neither vehicle was towed.

Clark was issued a written warning for failure to grant right of way at an intersection.

Assault Charge

Newtown Police report that on April 11, George Saydah, 79, of Bridgeport, turned himself in to Newtown Police after learning of an active warrant for his arrest. The arrest stems from the investigation of a March incident in which it was reported to Newtown Police that Saydah had struck a special education student on a school bus while employed as a bus monitor. Newtown Police worked cooperatively with the Board of Education and found probable cause for an arrest. Saydah was charged with risk of injury to a minor and third-degree assault of an elderly, disabled, or blind person.

Saydah was released with a court date of April 25.

Mirrors Hit

Newtown Police report that Ruth Appiah, 52, of Sandy Hook, operating a 2023 Acura MDX, was traveling eastbound on Button Shop Road at 4:44 pm April 11. Stephen Faiella, 39, of Newtown, operating a 2024 Ford Explorer, was traveling westbound on Button Shop Road. Appiah went into the westbound lane and the mirror of his vehicle struck the mirror of Faiella’s vehicle.

No injuries were reported. Neither vehicle was towed.

Appiah was issued a verbal warning for failure to maintain a lane.

Driver Sought For Hitting Pedestrians

Newtown Police report that at 11:09 am April 12, officers were dispatched to Newtown High School for a late report of an evading motor vehicle crash involving four pedestrians. It was reported that sometime between 10 and 10:30 am four members of the NHS female track team were running eastbound along Church Hill Road in the area of exit 10 of Interstate 84. The pedestrians stated they activated the pedestrian crosswalk light and began to cross within the crosswalk. As they entered the intersection, a gray or silver midsize SUV traveling off Interstate 84 left the off ramp and started to turn right onto Church Hill Road. The four pedestrians were sideswiped by the vehicle. The operator stopped briefly and inquired if they were OK, before leaving the area westbound without reporting the incident to police or exchanging information with the pedestrians.

The four pedestrians then returned to Newtown High School where the incident was later reported. The school staff made notifications to the parents and Newtown EMS responded to the school to treat the four for minor injuries.

The operator of the SUV is described as a white man with a beard and glasses. The SUV may have minor damage to the passenger side of the vehicle and the passenger side mirror.

The operator of the SUV or anyone that may have information regarding the incident is asked to contact the Newtown Police Department regarding CFS 2500005602.

Evading Charge

Newtown Police report that Joe Vallarta, 34, of Danbury, was arrested for causing a motor vehicle accident and leaving the scene on April 13 on Hawleyville Road. Police located the vehicle and Vallarta in town and took him into police custody. Vallarta was charged with evading responsibility for injury or property damage, illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, making an improper turn, and failure to obey a stop sign.

He was released on a $350 bond with a court date of April 22.