PLAINFIELD, Conn. — The lawyer and family for a man who suffered extensive injuries after a crash in October say the Connecticut State Trooper who was in pursuit at the time failed to call the crash in to emergency responders.
Attorney Michael Jefferson and the family of Hakeem Thompson, 25, who was injured, held a press conference Friday to release video of the incident.
They said Thompson was being pursued by a state trooper on Interstate 395 on October 12, 2022. When Thompson left the highway in Plainfield, he lost control of his vehicle on Lathrop Road, hit a guard rail which caused the car to flip over and land in a culvert.
Jefferson said the video released to the family showed the trooper who was pursuing Thompson slowed his vehicle and applied his brakes at the site of the crash. Jefferson said based on the video there is no indication that the trooper ever radioed in the pursuit or got out of his vehicle to provide assistance to Thompson.
Jefferson said the Plainfield police were not alerted to the crash for 45 minutes until a person saw the car in the culvert. According to Jefferson, Thompson was severely injured in the crash and is still hospitalized with a stage three brain trauma injury.
Plainfield Police are investigating the incident, but no one from their department was available to comment. Connecticut State Police said they are assisting Plainfield with the investigation and did not comment on the case.
Doug Stewart is the Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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