Police: Car Went Airborne When It Crashed Into Cumberland Farms

Fairfield Police are working to determine what may have caused a woman to smash her vehicle into the Cumberland Farms on Kings Highway East Monday night.

The driver, an unidentified 31-year-old Bridgeport woman, and three other people were transported to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries following the accident, at about 8:45 p.m. on March 24.

One of those victims is an 18-month-old girl, police said. She was in a child seat in the back of a parked car that was hit when the woman's vehicle came barreling into the gas station. The child's mother, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was also transported to the hospital.

A person in another vehicle — that was driving through the parking lot — was also hit by the woman's car and transported to the hospital. 

Witnesses told police that they didn't see any brake lights as the woman's car came speeding down the exit 24 off ramp on Interstate 95 in a "reckless" manner. She reportedly side-wiped a vehicle as she came down that off ramp.

"There was no indication of brake lights so her speed was obviously excessive as she crossed over Chambers Street," Fairfield Police Sgt. Suzanne Lussier said.

Her vehicle took out a concrete barrier on a gas pump and then struck vehicles in the parking lot before smashing into the concrete poles in front of the store. The speed and force of the impact sent her car airborne into the bottom of the roof overhang, police said. It hit another car as it came back down.

The Fairfield Fire Department said a "Good Samaritan" used a fire extinguisher to put out a small fire that broke out. Lussier said the "Good Samaritan" was a Cumberland Farms employee.

Firefighters had to extricate the woman from her car due to the extent of damage.

Investigation Ongoing

Lussier said the woman has an international driver's license from Guatemala. Her identity has not been released by police.

Lussier said police would execute a search warrant to obtain blood test results taken at the hospital, to determine if the woman was under the influence of alcohol. Detectives will also work to find out if the woman suffered a medical condition that may have caused her to crash, and they will inspect the vehicle to check for any possible mechanical failures or malfunctions.

Barring any extenuating circumstances, like a medical condition, Lussier said she expects charges to be filed.