ORANGE PD WARRANT
An image showing Pollastro’s damaged SUV.
DERBY — The Orange Police Department released an arrest warrant this week that led to the arrest of Sam Pollastro Jr. for allegedly leaving the scene of an accident.
Pollastro is a member of the tax board and the leader of the city Republican Party. He resigned his seat on the police commission Wednesday.
Orange police arrested Pollastro June 24 and charged him with evading responsibility and failing to stay in the proper lane. Court date information was not available online Wednesday.
Mayor Rich Dziekan’s office released a letter attributed to Pollastro Wednesday saying he was resigning from the Derby Police Commission, but not the other positions in which he serves.
“In the interest of maintaining the integrity of the Derby Police Department and the greater law enforcement community of the area, and out of an abundance of caution, I feel that resigning from the Derby Police Commission is the right decision at this time,” the statement attributed to Pollastro reads. “I have always tried to do what is in the best interest of the City of Derby, and will continue to do so by serving the City of Derby in my other various boards and positions. Please hereby accept my letter of resignation effective immediately.”
In an email Wednesday, Pollastro said that neither he nor his attorney could comment.
According to an arrest warrant, Orange police received a report of a car crash at about 12:41 a.m. March 28 on Lambert Road by Hall Drive. A man told police he was driving on Lambert Road when he came across a vehicle that had crashed into a utility pole. No one was in the vehicle.
Police identified the vehicle, a 2012 GMC SUV, as belonging to Pollastro.
According to the warrant, the SUV appeared to have been traveling north when it veered off the road and sideswiped about 35 feet of wire guard rail before striking a utility pole and breaking it in half. There were no skid marks at the scene, according to police.
After searching the area, Orange police contacted Derby police who attempted to “make contact” with Pollastro at his residence in Derby at 2:15 a.m. but were unsuccessful. Police searched the crash area again at 7 a.m.
Photographs from the scene show a partially crushed 12-pack of Coors Light in the vehicle, along with what appears to be a can within a cup in a door. Those images are not mentioned in the arrest warrant’s narrative.
Orange police said there is no proof alcohol played a part in the crash because they could not make contact with Pollastro after the crash.
It is also unclear how Pollastro got from Orange to Derby after the crash.
An Orange police officer tried to contact Pollastro at 6 a.m. on March 28 (about six hours after cops found the wreck), but was also unsuccessful, according to the warrant.
At about 9 a.m. March 28, Pollastro allegedly called Orange police, saying his vehicle was involved in an accident. He advised police to call his lawyer, John Barney, with any questions, according to the warrant.
Orange police spoke to a representative from Pollastro’s insurance company on April 2. The rep told police Pollastro filed a claim for the accident with the company. According to police, Pollastro told a claims adjuster that he was driving the vehicle while his girlfriend was a passenger, and was traveling north on Lambert Road “when he yawned and closed his eyes.”
“That the next thing he remembers was that his vehicle went off the road and struck a guardrail and utility pole,” the warrant states.
Orange police also said they talked to Pollastro’s lawyer, who acknowledged Pollastro was driving. Police said the lawyer advised Pollastro not to talk to investigators.
Police used the information collected in the warrant to establish probable cause in order to charge Pollastro with leaving the scene of a property damage crash.
The offenses for which Pollastro was charged are low-level. He could qualify for accelerated rehabilitation, a court diversion program for first-time, nonviolent offenders that could wipe the incident from his record after a period of time (assuming he has not enrolled in the program previously).
