Crime & Safety

Motorist Who Fled Crashes Arrested After Victim Pursues Him Onto Merritt

Bridgeport Man May Not Have Been Caught Had it Not Been for Accident Victim, Police Say

A Bridgeport motorist who fled from two accidents on Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield Tuesday morning was captured on the Merritt Parkway by State Police after the initial accident victim pursued him, police said.

"This guy put himself at personal risk to follow him. The original victim was still following him all the way to exit 40 where he was stopped," said Police Sgt. Sue Lussier, a department spokesman.

Lussier said Antonio Fuentes, 40, of Jenny Lane in Bridgeport, the motorist who fled from the two accidents, was driving a borrowed car and may never have been identified had the original accident victim not pursued him from a crash at Black Rock Turnpike and Candlewood Road about 7 a.m. Lussier said there's no guarantee the owner of the car would have told officers who was driving it or would have known who was driving it.

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Police said Fuentes sped away from the accident at Black Rock Turnpike and Candlewood Road and that the person he struck pursued him. Fuentes then got into another accident by Black Rock Turnpike and Stillson Road involving three other cars and backed into the car driven by the person pursuing him. He sped away again, and the original accident victim followed him onto the Merritt Parkway heading toward New York, police said.

State Police stopped Fuentes by exit 40, police said.

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Fuentes was driving with a suspended license and also had a warrant out of Bridgeport charging him with failure to appear in court, police said.

Fuentes was charged in Tuesday's mayhem with two counts of evading responsibility, following too closely, operating with a suspended license and unsafe backing, police said. His bond and court date were not immediately available.

Police said all of the accidents were minor and caused minor damage. "No injuries reported that I know of," Lussier said.

The identity of the motorist who pursued Fuentes wasn't immediately available.


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