Police Reports | October 27-November 1, 2026

Published: Nov 09, 2026 7:00 am

Collision In Parking Lot

Newtown Police report Patricia Riebe, 70, of Oxford, operating a 2023 Subaru Outback, was backing out of a marked parking space in a lot on Church Hill Road at 12:30 pm October 27. An unoccupied 2020 Ford Transit owned by Brinks, Inc was parked along the curb on the east side of the property. Riebe backed into the Ford Transit.

No injuries were reported. Neither vehicle was towed.

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

Found Eyeglasses

Newtown Police report that a person found a pair of brown eyeglasses at a Fairfield Hills parking lot between NewSylum Brewing and Newtown Ambulance on October 28.

If anyone lost a pair of eyeglasses in that area, contact the Newtown Police Department property officer at 203-426-5841.

Did Collision Occur?

Newtown Police report Daniel Hamar, 30, of Sandy Hook, operating a 2018 Hyundai Elantra, was traveling westbound in a travel lane in the parking lot of 6 Queen Street at 3:17 pm October 28. A 2024 Chevrolet Silverado owned by Norman Gardner, 63, of Sandy Hook, was parked in a nearby spot and was backing from a stall. Hamar said he knew he was close to the other vehicle, but did not believe there was an impact. Gardner said the vehicles did impact each other. Upon investigation, officers found that Gardner's vehicle had numerous scratches, but there was no obvious or overt damage that definitively matched damage on Hamar's vehicle.

No injuries were reported. Neither vehicle was towed.

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

Hit Deer

Newtown Police report Timothy Tamallanca, of Easton, operating a 2017 Honda CR-V, was traveling southbound on Toddy Hill Road at 9:22 pm October 28. A deer ran into the road and was struck by Tamallanca's vehicle.

Tamallanca was not injured. The vehicle was towed. The deer could not be located.

No enforcement.

Overturned Vehicle

Newtown Police report Gael Gomez, 17, of Newtown, operating a 2014 Kia Forte, was traveling eastbound on Nunnawauk Road at 11:57 pm, October 28. The vehicle was traveling fast and missed the stop sign at the intersection of Nunnawauk Road and Mile Hill Road South, then made a left onto Mile Hill Road South and hit the curb, causing the vehicle to overturn.

No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed.

Gomez was issued an infraction for failure to obey a stop sign.

Rear-Ended On Toddy Hill

Newtown Police report James D'Angelo, 57, of Newtown, operating a 2000 Lincoln Towncar, was traveling northbound on Toddy Hill Road at 9:07 am October 29. He was traveling behind a 2020 Jeep Renegade operated by Cristian Nugra-Rodriguez, 31, of Danbury. Nugra-Rodriguez stopped for a non-contact vehicle ahead that came to an abrupt stop at a green light. D'Angelo did not stop in time and rear-ended Nugra-Rodriguez's vehicle.

No injuries were reported. Neither vehicle was towed.

D'Angelo was issued a written warning for traveling an unreasonable distance apart.

Backed Into Car

Newtown Police report Maryane Chapman, 55, of Monroe, operating a 2025 BMW X1 Xdrive, was backing out of a parking space in the lot of 228 South Main Street at 2:24 pm October 29. Meagan Liscinsky, 32, of Sandy Hook, operating a 2020 Jeep Cherokee, was backing out of a space in the same lot. The vehicles struck each other.

No injuries were reported. Neither vehicle was towed.

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

Trailer Hits Car

Newtown Police report Kevin Butler, 64, of Newtown, operating a 2017 Ford F350 with an attached trailer, was backing up in a driveway on Reservoir Road at 3:54 pm October 29. The trailer struck a parked 2015 Mercedes C30 owned by Ignicious Molefi of Brooklyn, N.Y. Butler stated he did not think the trailer struck the vehicle.

No injuries were reported. Neither vehicle was towed.

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

Struck Telephone Pole

Newtown Police report Ray Jackson, 49, of Bridgeport, operating a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado, was traveling northbound on Taunton Lane at 5:25 pm October 29. The vehicle ran off the roadway right and struck a telephone pole.

No injuries were reported. The vehicle was not towed.

Jackson was issued an infraction for operating an unregistered motor vehicle and making a restricted turn.

Driver Injured, Deer Deceased

Newtown Police report Adrien Lopez, 20, of Fairfield, operating a 2023 Mazda CX-30, was traveling northwest on Dodgingtown Road at 11:47 pm October 29. While traveling along a straight area of roadway, a deer entered the road and ran into the driver's side of the vehicle.

Lopez claimed possible injuries and was examined on scene by EMTs, but declined transport. The vehicle was towed. The deer was found deceased.

No enforcement action.

School Bus Hit Utility Wires

Newtown Police report James Weiland, 59, of Newtown, operating a 2019 Blue Bird school bus, was traveling southbound on Pond Brook Road at 4:37 pm October 30. The vehicle struck a set of communication wires.

No injuries were reported. The vehicle was not towed.

No enforcement action.

Car Key Found

Newtown Police report a vehicle key was found in the area of 19 Main Street at approximately 10:36 am November 1. The key had an attached C.H. Booth Library card tag. Officers contacted the library and identified the card holder associated with the tag. An attempt was made to contact the individual regarding the found property.

The key was secured in Newtown Police Department's property storage area pending its return to its owner. The owner is encouraged to contact Newtown Police Department and reference case #26-15663.

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To the children and their parents: I have delayed this message for eight months because I was in a dark place following the last two of my nine surgeries, in December and February. I apologize for the lack of clarity that resulted. Now again in the light, I want to express my sincerest and deepest gratitude for the life you have given me. For the honor and privilege and indescribable responsibility you have bestowed upon me, as your children’s pediatrician. Twenty five years ago, I was brought to Sandy Hook to practice alongside a friend and colleague. We built something together. And then life, in its stark and brutal efficiency, took that away. A spinal cord injury following the first of those surgeries almost broke me. Just months after that, our community also fractured. The deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary School occurred soon after my paralysis. I learned to walk again—or rather, I had accepted that I would never walk normally, when the loss of life—the only lives I have ever lost in my career as a pediatrician—brought me to my knees. This is what I learned. Three decades of pediatrics have taught me to Live—Love—Learn—Laugh—Listen—Lead. Not in the order you may think or that we may have learned, but in the order we actually come to living a meaningful life. You cannot learn if you don’t listen. You cannot listen if you cannot laugh at yourself—as I have many times in an exam room acting and being ridiculous. You cannot laugh unless you feel free to love—and I truly loved your children, not as abstractions, but as the specific, irreplaceable persons they are. You cannot love without living fully in the present moment. And living fully allows you to lead. Leading requires understanding what you can control and accepting what you cannot. Everything else simply follows. To chase what you cannot control, to chase what follows, is to run behind, never catching what the moment brings. Babies still make me cry. After nearly thirty years, they still make me cry. Two cells become a living human with infinite potential. There is something inexplicable and unknowable in that transformation. I have never grown past that, never wanted to. It is the source of my own personal faith and spirituality. Physics teaches us that energy is never lost. I believe the energy instilled in a child—the force that makes them who they are—is forever. It never truly vanishes. It changes form. It is unique to each living creature. It moves through us, between us, around us. You can feel it in a newborn’s grip. You can see it in a child’s eyes when they recognize you and smile. You can sense it in a room when a family holds their baby for the first time, or says goodbye for the last time. Whatever that energy is— life, spirit, potential, love—it persists. Changed by time, expressed differently by each person, but it remains around us, if not part of us. Anyone who has loved and lost has felt it. Perhaps, unexplained, it is simply accepted as a feeling. I believe it is more complex and never knowable by us, at least not now, not here, as we know space-time. No pediatrician or parent in this community could ever fail to acknowledge how the school shooting tore our community apart. Forever grieving, I will not be defined by that darkness. Instead, I have chosen to be defined by my love of the color purple. I choose butterflies, horses, and whales. I choose kindness and neurodiversity. I choose the memory of our children as they lived and as they were, not by how they were taken. I remember them. I have spoken out and will continue to act. But I will not be imprisoned by that day. I choose laughter as it is the best and sometimes only medicine; and I choose to laugh and lose rather than win and want. We started out on Mount Pleasant Road with a vision. When my health and our community fractured, our practice fractured with it—we separated paths and I moved on. My respect for our shared practice of pediatrics could never be questioned, however; nor would I ever question it’s success. I never felt that I was on my own; many followed, many stayed. My appreciation never wavered. I owe a debt of gratitude to Peggy and Charlene. Together, we would not be diminished. We moved forward and we adapted. I learned that separation is not defeat; it brings clarity of vision and reveals your path and what you are meant to do. We rebuilt the practice on a different foundation but never weakened. We moved from Queen Street to the little blue house on Church Hill Road. Then when it made sense—when the weight of carrying on alone grew too heavy, we merged again. When Danbury Hospital’s pediatricians and nurse practitioners were left without positions, we opened our doors welcoming their practice and their families. We moved, yet again. Almost instantly, the pandemic came. We adapted. The practice grew, but it would never outgrow me. Because I also grew. I grew older because of it; but, as many already know, I will never grow up. Each separation, each merger, and every move reminded me that you do not stay by staying still. Kristen originally joined me as an LPN with a quiet competence. As an LPN, then obtaining her RN and BSN, then becoming an APRN. She became the soul of the practice to Peggy’s heart. Though I name only a few of those with whom I had the honor to work, to employ, and to work for, the unnamed are not—nor ever will be—forgotten. Each of you has left an indelible mark on my soul and every patient has filled a portion of my heart. The practice continued to grow because, together, we were able to move forward—not from weakness, but from a commitment to each other. Not from certainty, but from a willingness to listen and respond. Not from darkness, but to brightness. After two and a half decades, I entrusted the ship to Kristen—not because I relented or because I was weakened by my circumstances, but because the work was bigger and more important than I, as an individual, was; and the ocean was too vast that I could no longer navigate. While I stepped back from daily practice, I am not stepping away from pediatrics. I remain accessible to families who seek counsel. I will be writing a book, because parenting— like pediatrics—is not a destination but a practice; and every parent and every child deserves to know that they are not alone in their uncertainty. I will be teaching. I will be writing. I will be here, even if not physically. I will be listening. I have lived because I was able to listen to you. Laugh with you. Learn from you. Love your children—not perfectly, not without doubt or as you do, but genuinely. And you gave me the extraordinary privilege of helping to lead you and teach you, while being led and taught by you in return. I have held your fear. I have tried to remain steady during uncertainty. I ask you to remember that laughter and love are sometimes the only bridge across those unbearable moments. I learned this with you. I learned this from you. I came here the same way I leave here. I will continue to live, love, learn, listen, and lead—and most importantly I will definitely continue to laugh. To the families who trusted me: your children have forever changed who I am as a physician and as a person. The responsibility you gave me shaped not just my career, but my character. That is a debt that can never be paid; though it will forever be honored and cherished. Thank you. Babies still make me cry. I still hold them in awe, and I will always be inspired by the children and adults they have or will become. That will never change. Be kind. Be present. Be well. Forever grateful, Rick Auerbach

25 Years Of Pediatrics: Rick Auerbach May Have Retired, But He Isn’t Finished Teaching Parents And S

Thank you Sam Cross and The Bee for making this story possible.

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For the record, my sons; Matthew and John, know how proud I am. While they were both once brilliantly moronic, they have developed into amazingly bright young men who have the capacity to change the world and mold future generations. I thank Sandy Hook Elementary for part of that, the rest of my appreciation goes to my wife, Julie Auerbach.

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Police Reports | October 27-November 1, 2026

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