MONROE, CT — A 65-year-old New Canaan man fell asleep at the wheel of his pickup truck while heading north on Route 25 Thursday afternoon, before swerving into the south lane and hitting a box truck head on, according to police.
Both drivers and a passenger in the box truck appeared to have sustained minor injuries, police said, adding the crash, which occurred around 12:40 p.m. in the 230-block of Main Street, tied up traffic for about 90 minutes as police investigated the cause and waited for tow trucks to arrive.
Firefighters and Monroe Volunteer Emergency Medical Service personnel also responded to the emergency call.
The driver of the pickup truck told officers he had fallen asleep and should have pulled off the road when he felt tired. He was given an infraction for failure to drive in the proper lane.
Police said a 67-year-old Bridgeport man drove the box truck with a 51-year-old male passenger, also from Bridgeport.
The section of Main Street was totally closed off for about an hour, before traffic was limited to one lane for about 30 minutes, while officers waited for the arrival of a tow truck that could take away the box truck, according to the report.
Thief flips her the bird
A Moose Hill Road woman told police she woke up around 3:48 a.m. Tuesday morning, looked out her window and saw a young man attempting to break into her vehicle.
When she said something to him, police said the suspect flipped her off and ran away. She reportedly did not see him get into a vehicle and did not know the direction he was going.
He was described as a white male, who appeared to be in his teens or early 20s, wearing a black T-shirt and shorts.
Police officers searched the surrounding neighborhood and spoke to a garbage truck driver, who told them he saw the male walking around 10 minutes earlier. No thefts from vehicles were reported in the area, police said.
The street is close to the Shelton town line, so the suspect may have gone there, police said.
Theft of a catalytic converter
A Hartford HealthCare employee told police someone stole the catalytic converter off his Honda CRV in the Village Square parking lot Wednesday, while he was working a shift at the Monroe Turnpike business.
He told officers he worked from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. and his Honda sounded loud when he started the engine to go home, police said, adding when he looked under the vehicle, he noticed the catalytic converter had been sawed off.
Police said the theft resulted in a loss of about $800.
Officers found no witnesses and were not told about any unusual activity, according to the report. Police are investigating the incident.
