A pedestrian suffered life-threatening injuries during a crash in Bristol late Thursday involving a motorist who fled the scene before being taken into custody by state police on DUI and other charges following a second crash on Route 72, police said.
The pedestrian was struck shortly before 10:15 p.m. in the area of 192 Pine St., according to the Bristol Police Department.
The collision occurred while the victim was “standing in the roadway,” Lt. Geoffrey Lund said in a statement. The pedestrian suffered injuries described as life-threatening.
The driver took off from the area and was located by state police troopers when he was involved in a single-car crash on Route 72 East in New Britain, in the area of Exit 1C, according to Connecticut State Police.
State police said they responded to the report of the single-car crash just before 10:20 p.m. shortly after learning that a driver involved in the hit-and-run crash in Bristol took off on Route 72.
State police identified the driver as 21-year-old Soto Andres Cruz of Bristol. Driving a 2007 Mazda6i east on Route 72, Cruz was traveling too fast for conditions and veered to the right, colliding with a metal beam guardrail in the right shoulder, according to state police.
Cruz and a passenger, a 21-year-old Meriden woman, took off from the wreck on foot and were later taken into custody, state police said. They suffered minor injuries.
The woman was taken in an ambulance to the Hospital of Central Connecticut, and Cruz was transported to Troop H in Hartford, state police said.
Cruz is facing charges of operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs, evading the scene of an accident with property damage, failure to maintain lane, traveling too fast for conditions, interfering/resisting, operating without a license and negligent use of a highway by a pedestrian. Those charges stem from the single-car crash in New Britain.
Cruz was held on $100,000 bond and was expected to be arraigned in New Britain Superior Court on Friday.
The Mazda was towed to the police department in Bristol, as the investigation into the hit-and-run crash is ongoing.
The Bristol Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team responded to the scene Thursday night and is in charge of the investigation.
Anyone with information has been asked to contact Officer Ryan Kosiba at 860-584-3035.
