See dashcam video that shows ATV rider illegally driving in park crash into police cruiser
Connecticut police have released dashboard camera video of an ATV driver crashing into a police cruiser while illegally riding in a park on Sunday.
New Haven officers who were assigned to a dirtbike/ATV detail to address ongoing complaints of riders driving illegally and recklessly in the city responded to the area of East Rock Park on Sunday around 3:40 p.m. on the reports of a group congregating there, according to the New Haven Police Department.
Officers used Farnam Drive, which has been closed to all vehicular traffic since 2020, to access the park. While the officers were driving up the road, they saw a large number of pedestrians, including families with children, in the area and noticed an ATV driving down the road at a high rate of speed toward the pedestrians, police said.
Dashboard camera video released Wednesday shows the officers slowing down their police cruiser and angling it to protect the families and pedestrians they just passed while providing space for the oncoming ATV to pass the cruiser, according to police.
As the cruiser was slowing down, the video shows the operator losing control of his ATV and striking the front passenger side window of the cruiser.
According to police, officers immediately called for medical assistance. The ATV rider was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with serious injuries.
The NHPD’s Accident Reconstruction Team responded to the scene to investigate the collision, police said.
“This is an unfortunate and stark reminder of the extreme dangers of illegal ATV and dirt bike riding on city streets, both for pedestrians and the operators of the vehicles themselves. Our police officers engaged in a potentially life-saving maneuver on behalf of this family that was in harm’s way,” said New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson.
“While we’re glad the family was protected from harm, what happened to the driver is tragic, and we hope for his complete and speedy recovery and we urge the public not to engage in this type of activity.