Restricted Turn

Newtown Police report Kristin Heald, 29, of Sandy Hook, operating a 2013 Ford Escape, was traveling westbound on Berkshire Road at 4:24 am April 23. While trying to negotiate a curve, Heald left the roadway right, hitting a curb, then a tree stump, a boulder, and finally a tree.

Heald was transported to Danbury Hospital with possible injuries. The vehicle was towed.

Heald was issued an infraction for making a restricted turn.

Collision In Parking Lot

Newtown Police report Joanna Conklin, 42, of Newtown, operating a 2017 Honda Pilot, was attempting to pull into a parking space in a lot on Hawleyville Road at 1:14 pm on May 15. She struck a 2024 GMC Sierra owned by Frank Oliviero of Stafford, NJ, that was parked in an adjacent spot.

No injuries were reported. Neither vehicle was towed.

No enforcement action was taken since the incident occurred on private property.

Three Injured In Collision

Newtown Police report Montero Albarran, 33, of Sandy Hook, operating a 2016 Infiniti Qx60, was traveling westbound on Dodgingtown Road at 9:48 am May 19. Tania Marin-Marin, 33, no address mentioned in the report, was traveling east on Route 302. Albarran attempted to turn left onto Jacklin Road and was struck by Marin-Marin's vehicle.

Both operators and a passenger reported possible injuries and were transported to Danbury Hospital. Both vehicles were towed.

Albarran received a verbal warning for failure to grant right of way at an intersection.

Backed Into Car

Newtown Police report Jacquie Dachenshausen, 73, of Sandy Hook, operating a 2009 Hummer H3, was backing up in a driveway on Elizabeth Street at 3:39 pm May 29. An unoccupied 2025 Honda CR-V operated by Mingxiang Wu of Staten Island, N.Y., was parked across the street. Dachenhausen backed into Wu's vehicle.

No injuries were reported. Neither vehicle was towed.

Dachenhausen was issued a verbal warning for unsafe backing.

Hit Flagpole

Newtown Police report Patricia Morgenstern, 72, of New Fairfield, operating a 2014 Honda Accord, was traveling southbound on Main Street at 4:11 pm May 29. While turning onto Church Hill Road, Morgenstern struck the flagpole.

No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed. No significant damage was done to the flagpole.

Morgenstern received a verbal warning for making a restricted turn.

Wheel Came Off From Impact

Newtown Police report Henry Terifay, 20, of Sandy Hook, operating a 2002 Toyota Tacoma, was traveling northbound on Glen Road at 10:24 pm May 29. The vehicle veered left across the opposing lane of traffic and struck a guardrail, causing a wheel to come off.

No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed.

Terifay received a verbal warning for failure to drive in the proper lane.

Struck Railroad Bridge

Newtown Police report Robert Kameta, 34, of Calera, Ala., operating a 2026 Volvo tractor trailer, was traveling southbound on Botsford Road at 8:05 pm June 2. His vehicle struck the railroad overpass.

No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed.

Kameta was issued an infraction for failure to obey height requirements.

Hit Deer

Newtown Police report Hunter Brunetti, 27, of Newtown, operating a 023 Subaru WRX, was traveling eastbound on Dinglebrook Lane at 11:34 pm June 2. A deer ran into the roadway and was struck by Brunetti's vehicle.

Brunetti was not injured. His vehicle was towed.

No enforcement action was taken.

Following Too Close

Newtown Police report Dennis Donahue, 83, of Sandy Hook, operating a 2019 Subaru Forrester, was traveling westbound on Berkshire road at 9:21 am June 4. He was traveling behind a 2020 Nissan Pathfinder operated by Christina Castro, 44, of Ansonia. Donahue rear-ended Castro's vehicle.

No injuries were reported. Donahue's vehicle was towed.

Donahue was issued a written warning for following too close.

Struck Tree

Newtown Police report Jamie O'Leary, 49, of Ridgefield, operating a 2019 Nissan Rogue, was traveling eastbound on Berkshire Road at 10:58 pm June 4. O'Leary told police another vehicle entered the intersection ahead with High Rock Road, forcing him to swerve and hit a tree. The report also states that O'Leary told another officer he was looking at his cell phone prior to hitting the tree. No evidence was found of another vehicle or of O'Leary swerving.

O'Leary was transported to Danbury Hospital with possible injuries. The vehicle was towed.

O'Leary was issued an infraction for failure to wear a seatbelt and failure to drive right.

Hit Parked Car

Newtown Police report Alexis Wasik, 22, of Sandy Hook, operating a 2020 Honda CR-V, was traveling westbound on Engleside Terrace at 9:36 am June 5. A 2016 Hino 268 operated by David Newsome, 50, of Hartford, was parked on the eastbound side of the roadway, partially encroaching the westbound lane. Wasik struck Newsome's vehicle.

No injuries were reported. Neither vehicle was towed.

No enforcement action was taken against either operator.

Bug Distraction Leads To Crash

Newtown Police report Stefan Veenhuis, 25, of Monroe, operating a 2014 Jeep Grand Caravan, was traveling eastbound on Berkshire Road at 11:07 am June 5. Veenhuis told police he felt a bug crawling on his leg, and while attempting to brush the bug off, became distracted and left his lane of travel. The vehicle crossed over the fog line and left the roadway, striking a mailbox and a curb.

No injuries were reported. The vehicle was not towed.

Veenhuis was issued a verbal warning for failure to maintain a proper lane.

Collision In Intersection

Newtown Police report Yvonne Oliver, 75, of Waterbury, operating a 2015 Kia Sportage, was traveling northbound on Poverty Hollow Road at 10:11 pm June 5. Raeann McLean, 21, of Windsor, operating a 2011 Volkswagen CC Sport, was traveling on Key Rock Road. Oliver struck McLean's vehicle in the intersection.

No injuries were reported. McLean's vehicle was towed.

Oliver received a verbal warning for failure to grant right of way at an intersection.

Man Arrested For Threatening With Knife

Newtown Police report that at 7:10 pm June 6, officers responded to Caraluzzi's Market on Queen Street for a report of a threatening incident involving a knife.

Officers were advised that a customer had allegedly threatened a store employee while in the deli area of the store. The individual had reportedly displayed a bread knife obtained from the deli counter and made threatening statements towards an employee. The suspect had left the store prior to officers' arrival.

Through interviews, surveillance footage, store records, and subsequent investigation, officers identified the suspect as Douglas Luessenhop, 64, of Newtown.

Officers located Luessenhop at his residence and took him into custody without incident. Luessenhop was charged with second-degree threatening.

Luessenhop was released on a $1,000 non-surety bond with a court date of June 18 in Danbury Superior Court.

DUI Charge

Newtown Police report that on June 7, officers responded to the area of Hattertown Road for a motor vehicle collision. Upon arrival, an investigation was conducted, which resulted in the arrest of Karina Guaman-Jaramillo, 35, of New Haven. Guaman-Jaramillo was charged with illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failure to drive in the proper lane, first-degree violation of conditions of release, violation of a protective order, and third-degree assault.

Guaman-Jaramillo was held on a $25,000 bond with a court date of June 8 in Danbury Superior Court.