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New Haven sergeant killed in crash, second officer injured
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 8:13 AM EDT
By William Kaempffer, Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — A city police sergeant was killed and a patrol officer critically injured late Tuesday after their cruisers collided while responding to an emergency call.
Sgt. Dario Aponte died in the crash and Patrol Officer Diane Gonzalez was injured.
While en route to a domestic call in Fair Haven at about 11:30 p.m., the patrol cars collided at Chapel and East streets. Both cruisers were said to have had lights and sirens activated at the time of the crash.
One cruiser wound up on top of a third, civilian vehicle, while the other cruiser spun out and then careened through a fence and down a hill.
Officers first arriving at the crash found their badly injured colleagues and made urgent calls for medical assistance.
It took members of the Fire Department approximately a half-hour to extricate Gonzalez, whose cruiser went down the hill. She remained hospitalized early Wednesday at Yale New Haven Hospital, where her condition was extremely serious, Officer Joseph Avery said.
Mayor John DeStefano Jr. arrived at Yale-New Haven Hospital shortly after midnight.
Aponte was the father of two young children and had been promoted to sergeant at the end of July. Aponte joined the department in November 1991 and was promoted to detective in April 2004. He worked in the crime scene unit until his promotion to sergeant in July, when he switched to the overnight patrol shift.
Police had been sent to investigate a report of a man beating a woman on the street in Fair Haven late Tuesday.
New Haven police expected to release more details at a news conference Wednesday morning. Connecticut State Police have been called in to investigate the circumstances of the collision.
The department has 260 patrol officers, 231 of whom are assigned to the patrol division.
New Haven has lost several police officers in the past few years, including Officer Dan Picagli in 2006 and Officer Robert Fumiatti in 2007.
Picagli, 38, was struck and killed by a sport utility vehicle while directing traffic at a construction site on Oct. 21, 2006.
Fumiatti, 35, died on Jan. 10, 2007, of a heart condition four years after he was shot in the face during a 2002 drug raid. Arnold Bell, who was convicted of assault in the shooting, was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Another veteran New Haven officer, Officer George Smith, died while off duty on Nov. 26, 2006. Smith, 56, had been a member of the department since 1978.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 8:13 AM EDT
By William Kaempffer, Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — A city police sergeant was killed and a patrol officer critically injured late Tuesday after their cruisers collided while responding to an emergency call.
Sgt. Dario Aponte died in the crash and Patrol Officer Diane Gonzalez was injured.
While en route to a domestic call in Fair Haven at about 11:30 p.m., the patrol cars collided at Chapel and East streets. Both cruisers were said to have had lights and sirens activated at the time of the crash.
One cruiser wound up on top of a third, civilian vehicle, while the other cruiser spun out and then careened through a fence and down a hill.
Officers first arriving at the crash found their badly injured colleagues and made urgent calls for medical assistance.
It took members of the Fire Department approximately a half-hour to extricate Gonzalez, whose cruiser went down the hill. She remained hospitalized early Wednesday at Yale New Haven Hospital, where her condition was extremely serious, Officer Joseph Avery said.
Mayor John DeStefano Jr. arrived at Yale-New Haven Hospital shortly after midnight.
Aponte was the father of two young children and had been promoted to sergeant at the end of July. Aponte joined the department in November 1991 and was promoted to detective in April 2004. He worked in the crime scene unit until his promotion to sergeant in July, when he switched to the overnight patrol shift.
Police had been sent to investigate a report of a man beating a woman on the street in Fair Haven late Tuesday.
New Haven police expected to release more details at a news conference Wednesday morning. Connecticut State Police have been called in to investigate the circumstances of the collision.
The department has 260 patrol officers, 231 of whom are assigned to the patrol division.
New Haven has lost several police officers in the past few years, including Officer Dan Picagli in 2006 and Officer Robert Fumiatti in 2007.
Picagli, 38, was struck and killed by a sport utility vehicle while directing traffic at a construction site on Oct. 21, 2006.
Fumiatti, 35, died on Jan. 10, 2007, of a heart condition four years after he was shot in the face during a 2002 drug raid. Arnold Bell, who was convicted of assault in the shooting, was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Another veteran New Haven officer, Officer George Smith, died while off duty on Nov. 26, 2006. Smith, 56, had been a member of the department since 1978.
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