RI teen taken to Yale by LifeStar after crashing into tree in Connecticut

A teenager from Rhode Island was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital by LifeStar after being seriously injured in a crash in Essex Saturday evening, police said.

Gary S. Cleveland Jr., of Exeter, Rhode Island, was driving a Honda civic on Route 9 when he struck a tree just after 5:30 p.m., according to Connecticut State Police Troop F.

CT state police respond to 2,200 service calls on Christmas weekend, two fatal accidents

Cleveland was headed northbound when investigators believe he drifted off the road and into the shoulder and struck the tree in the median, police said.

State police have responded to more than 2,200 calls so far this holidays weekend.

The boy was seriously injured and the crash was still under investigation, police said.