New Haven police arrest man accused of intentionally driving into crowd
The New Haven Police Department said it has arrested a 19-year-old man accused of intentionally driving his car into a crowd on College Street on April 19.
The incident, captured on video, started at 1:25 a.m. on Saturday, when officers saw two men fighting in front of a nightclub, Rumaj, on Crown Street. The men were later identified as 19-year-old Brayden Chance and 22-year-old John Hay, police said.
Officers determined that Hay threw the first punch, resulting in his arrest and charge with disorderly conduct, according to police.
About 20 minutes later, police received “numerous reports” that a person was hit by a car on College Street near a parking garage. Officers saw video from bystanders that showed a black Mercedes appearing to intentionally drive into people standing on the sidewalk.
The video shows the driver, later identified as Chance, hitting another car and a 20-year-old woman from Milford, who was sent to Yale-New Haven Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. After driving onto the sidewalk, Chance is shown backing up again and trying to hit people.
Police were unable to locate Chance immediately after the incident, but they determined he was the driver and issued an arrest warrant. He later turned himself in on Thursday, April 23, according to police.
After the fight involving Chance and Hay, officers said Chance saw Hay with a group of people on the sidewalk and tried to hit them. The woman who was hit was not affiliated with either Chance or Hay, though, police said.
Chance was charged with two counts of criminal attempt to commit assault in the second degree, reckless endangerment in the first degree, reckless driving, evading responsibility, and criminal mischief in the third degree.
He is being held on a $350,000 bond.
“This incident goes far beyond what we normally see in the entertainment district and is completely unacceptable,” New Haven Police Chief David Zanelli said in a press release. “We are deploying additional officers to our downtown area for bar detail, and while we encourage people to come enjoy our downtown nightlife responsibly, we are not going to tolerate any criminal behavior.”
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