Accident Victim Recovering As Police Pursue Warrant

By Andrew Gorosko

As a Dodgingtown woman was recovering from a serious hit-and-run accident, in which she was struck by a pickup truck while jogging, Newtown police were preparing to seek an arrest warrant for the truck driver who fled the scene.

Marianne Ryder, 43, was in fair condition on June 11 in Danbury Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said. Ms Ryder was admitted to the hospital after the accident on May 29. According to her husband, Robert, Ms Ryder is now in acute rehabilitation and doing well despite being in considerable pain.

“The response from the town has been wonderful,” he said. “We just moved up from Stamford about six months ago but everyone here – neighbors, friends, my son’s teachers – have done so much to help and we are so grateful.”

Mr Ryder said doctors have indicated that his wife may be released from the hospital in about two weeks but would require ongoing rehabilitation.

Ms Ryder was jogging eastward along the eastbound road shoulder of Route 302, about 2,000 feet east of Route 302’s intersection with Head O’ Meadow Road, at about 5 pm, Thursday, May 29, when the eastbound truck struck her.

Detective Sergeant Robert Tvardzik said this week that police planned to file their arrest warrant application for the truck driver by Thursday, June 12, in Danbury Superior Court.

Detectives this week were completing their investigation into the accident, the detective sergeant said. A basic charge in the case would be evading responsibility.

After an arrest warrant application is submitted, it is reviewed by a prosecutor, who determines what charges, if any, apply to the incident. The prosecutor then presents the document to a judge, who reviews it. If the judge endorses the prosecutor’s finding for an arrest, an arrest warrant is issued to police.

Police would soon serve an arrest warrant against the suspect in the case, Det Sgt Tvardzik said.

Police have declined to identify the truck driver, other than to say that the person is from out of town. Police seized the red Ford pickup truck with Connecticut commercial marker plates on May 30, after which they inspected it for evidence of the accident.

After the accident, the truck had continued traveling eastward to the intersection of Route 302 and Route 25, police have said. There were witnesses to the accident.

Police investigators, aided by Newtown Hook and Ladder firefighters, spent about four hours on Route 302 after the accident, taking measurements and collecting physical evidence for their investigation. The accident occurred at the end of a long straightaway, near a point where Route 302’s eastbound lane begins a broad curve to the left.