Shocking video captured the moment a teenage ATV rider was seriously injured when he smashed into a police cruiser that cut him off from riding illegally in a Connecticut park.
New Haven police released the footage Wednesday showing the unidentified 19-year-old ATV rider losing control and smashing into the squad car’s windshield in East Rock Park on Sunday afternoon, according to WSFA.
“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,” New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson said.
The dashcam footage showed the police car slowly pulling over to block the left side of the road as the ATV sped toward where people were walking — with the smaller vehicle then swerving and tipping over, sending the rider hurtling into the windshield, smashing it.
The 19-year-old rider was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, WSFA said.
He will eventually face charges, the police chief said.
“We hope he’s all right,” the chief told the New Haven Register. “We’re very lucky that he wasn’t killed.”
An initial overview found no misconduct by the officer and no reason to investigate further, according to Jacobson, who said the maneuver was justified because the ATV was heading toward where a family was walking.
“Our police officers engaged in a potentially life-saving maneuver on behalf of this family that was in harm’s way,” he said.
“The officer wasn’t traveling at any speed when the incident happened and then the officer also gave an area of egress, meaning they could’ve gotten around the police car.”
