Hit and Run Accident in Stony Creek

What can one do? 

My wife, a buddy, and I were enjoying a relaxing drive along a winding back road last night, at dusk.  I, the front seat passenger, was looking down at my new smartphone, trying to use the GPS feature for the first time, when it happened.  I heard my buddy in the back seat release an alarming gasp, grunt, or groan (?) and then immediately felt my wife’s avoidance maneuver jostle me from my relaxed state.  As I raised my head to see what was happening, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a fleeting glimpse of a car that was clearly way too close to our car.  I was just starting to process what was happening … starting to think, “whoa, that was close”.  Well … a millisecond second later, it was evident that it was too close – KaBOOM! 

The oncoming driver had crossed the middle line … not by a few inches, nor a couple of feet – he was fully in our lane, headed straight for us.  Luckily, thank God, we narrowly avoided a full head-on collision. I say “we”, but my wife deserves the credit here.  She was driving and she reacted perfectly – she did not freeze, panic, nor brake before impact.  By making a slight quick turn, the oncoming car missed our front end and struck the side of the car, minimizing the impact.   The oncoming car tore off our driver’s side mirror, damaged the driver’s door,  and destroyed the rear door as it scraped along our poor car … but we were not badly injured.  It could have been SO much worse.

I have no idea how about how the other driver is doing, or what kind of damage his car, or her car, sustained.  I don’t know because the other driver didn’t stop.  It was simply a “hit and run”.

It happened so quickly that none of us were able to get a good enough look at the car to know its make or model and we did not see the license plate.  However, we have a piece of his trim – Blue Metallic.  It could have been a drunk driver, a stolen car, someone texting while driving, or any other individual who had no interest in facing the music.  Whoever it was, they were speeding when they hit us and they continued to speed as they fled the scene.  I pray they didn’t kill someone later on. 

So … what can one do?  Well, perhaps readers can help!  The accident occurred near the intersection of Rte. 146 (Stony Creek Road) and Whitting Farm Road around 8:30 PM.  I doubt out-of-towners travel that road, so I’d be inclined to think it was a local.  Keep an eye out for Blue cars with fresh damage to the driver’s side and front-end.  Maybe a neighbor’s teenager will claim to have hit a guard rail or have some other story that doesn’t quite feel right. Anyway, if anyone sees anything suspicious, please call the Branford police and share.  Other than that, keep alert! 

 ~ Thank You.