Scooter Rider Charged In Cop Injury

Police have arrested and charged a 70-year-old man who they say struck a detective and seriously injured him while illegally riding a motor scooter.

The man, a West Haven resident, is said by the police to have struck veteran cop, Detective Juan Ingles late last November while Ingles was helping to direct traffic at a construction project on Kimberly Avenue beneath Interstate 91. Read more about what happened here.

The collision is reported to have fractured a disc in Ingles’ spine, herniated three discs in his spine and given him a concussion. He was treated at Yale-New Haven Hospital and remains out of work, recovering from his injuries. It is unknown when he will be able to resume his duties. (Read a ​“Cop of the Week” about Ingles here.)

Officer David Hartman, spokesman for the police department, said in a press release Tuesday, that the scooter operator was arrested last Thursday after a months-long investigation by the department. A toxicology test revealed that the man was under the influence of cannabinoids and cocaine at the time of the crash, Hartman said in the release. A check of his motor vehicle driving history also revealed that he was operating the scooter, a GT Vespa, without benefit of a driver’s license with motorcycle endorsement, or proper registration, both of which are required by law.

The man was arrested on the following charges:
—Assault in the Second Degree with a Motor Vehicle (53a-60d)
—Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence (14 – 227a)
—Striking an Officer with a Motor Vehicle (14 – 223a)
—Traveling Unreasonably Fast in a Construction Zone (14 – 218a*Z)
—Operating a Motorcycle without a Motorcycle Endorsement (14 – 40a(a)*)
—Operating an Unregistered Motor Vehicle (14 – 12)