By The newspaper
May 31, 2024, 01:35 AM EDT
A Connecticut State Police sergeant was killed when he was struck while on Interstate 84 in Southington on Thursday afternoon, May 30. The officer was executing a traffic stop at the time the fatal accident occurred.
Officer Aaron Pelletier, who had nine years with the Connecticut State Police, and was a K-9 handler. He was at a traffic stop around 2:30 pm, just before Exit 31, when he was struck out of his patrol car by a passing vehicle.
During a news conference, Sergeant Luke Davis of the CSP Public Information Office said Aaron Pelletier was on duty working overtime funded by a “high visibility motor vehicle enforcement grant.”
He stopped a driver for his seat belt
Officer Pelletier noticed that a driver was traveling without a seat belt, and told him to move over. While the officer was talking to the driver he had stopped, a red pickup truck traveling in the right lane began to approach where Pelletier was standing.
“Preliminary information shows that the wheels on the right side of the truck were completely over the dividing line towards the shoulder. “The truck sideswiped the TFC Pelletier cruiser and struck him on the shoulder while he was talking to the operator of the vehicle that had stopped,” Davis said during the conference.
When emergency crews arrived at the scene, they pronounced Pelletier dead.
The driver fled the scene
The driver of the red pickup truck did not stop and continued traveling east on I-84. Several witnesses who witnessed the accident called 911. Authorities said that after escaping, they managed to find the driver and arrest him.
“The driver of the truck finally stopped in the area of exit 39A, which resulted in the vehicle being disabled. The driver is currently in state police custody,” said Sergeant Davis.
Dozens of fellow police officers and colleagues from across the state arrived at the scene Thursday night and formed a procession that escorted Officer Pelletier’s body to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Farmington.
The lieutenant governor recalled an anecdote
Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz shared at the conference that Pelletier stopped her two weeks ago because of the windows of the vehicle she was in.
“The tragic thing is that he lost his life while conducting a routine traffic stop to try to stop speeding, to try to make our roads safer, to try to keep the public safe,” Bysiewicz said.
Daniel Loughman, CSP commander, said Aaron Pelletier was a nine-year veteran of the Connecticut State Police and a member of the 125th Training Troop.
He graduated from the K9 Academy as part of the 223rd Patrol Dog Class in December 2021. His K9 canine partner’s name is Roso.
“TFC Pelletier served the citizens of the state of Connecticut with an unwavering sense of dedication, pride and professionalism, and his sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Connecticut State Police said.
Police officer Aaron Pelletier is survived by his wife, Dominique, and their two sons, Troy and Zachary.
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