DANBURY – Danbury Police are investigating after a police pursuit ended in a serious crash, killing 3 and injuring 2.
The crash was the result of a high speed police pursuit out of Putnam County, New York when the car fled a traffic stop.
The Putnam County Deputy Sheriff Donald Smith was in a marked cruiser on patrol along Route 6 in the town of Southeast, New York. Around 4:20 a.m., he saw a car travelling eastbound on the highway driving erratically and swerving over the center-line of the road.
Smith suspected the driver was intoxicated, and attempted to pull the car over. The diver didn’t comply, and continued to drive eastbound towards Connecticut. Smith followed, and the speeds were initially under the speed limit.
When the suspect’s car was about a quarter mile from the state line, it accelerated.
Smith continued to follow the car across the state line. The Danbury Police Department was notified, and was told to be on the lookout for the car.
About three-quarters of a mile into Connecticut, Smith decelerated but the suspect’s car accelerated away. About 15 seconds later it ran off the road and crashed into a metal utility pole at the intersection of Mill Plain Road and Milestone Road in Danbury.
The car, a white Nissan Maxima, had 5 people inside. The driver and the male passengers were killed on impact. Two females were injured, and first-aid was administered by Smith and passers-by. The women were transported to Danbury Hospital with non life-threatning injuries.
The identities of the victims have not been released.
Smith was not injured in the incident. He was taken to Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel New York for observation and then released.
Danbury Police are investigating the crash while the Putnam County Sherriff’s department conducts an internal review of the events leading up to the crash.
