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The incident happened on Tuesday, April 4, around 11:40 p.m., when state police learned that a black Honda had allegedly hit a truck and another car in a construction zone on Interstate 95 northbound in Westport near Exit 17 and had then evaded the scene.
According to state police, the person who reported the incident and had been driving the second vehicle that was hit was following the Honda when he called.
Upon arriving at the scene, troopers found the Honda traveling north in the left lane near Exit 20 and saw that it was drifting from the median into the center lane.
Police then pulled the Honda over just before Exit 23 and saw that the front end of it was damaged.
Troopers then began speaking with the driver of the Honda, identified as 34-year-old Bridgeport resident Jose Ernesto Velazquez-Pastrana and smelled the odor of alcohol from his person.
They then administered a sobriety test when Velazquez-Pastrana admitted that he had consumed alcohol earlier in the evening, which he failed.
After an investigation into the incident, police determined that after failing to recognize posted warnings indicating construction ahead, Velazquez-Pastrana had hit a highway construction crash truck with an activated directional arrow that had been stopped in the left lane.
He had then sideswiped another vehicle belonging before driving away.
Based on the investigation, Velazquez-Pastrana was charged with the following:
- Failure to maintain lane in a construction zone;
- Operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both in a construction zone;
- Evading responsibility in a construction zone;
- Failure to move over for a non-emergency vehicle in a construction zone.
Velazquez-Pastrana was later released on a $1,000 non-surety bond and will be arraigned in Bridgeport Superior Court on Tuesday, April 25.
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