Driver, 43, faces charges after striking house in Ansonia

Eric Ricitelli

ANSONIA - At about noon today, the Derby Police Department notified the Ansonia Police Department of a blue car driving erratically on Derby Avenue towards Ansonia. 

A short time later a resident on Platt Street reported a blue car struck a house at 35 Platt St. and the driver, who was the only occupant, fled the scene south on Columbia Street. 

The driver was described as a white male wearing a dark colored jacket and bleeding from the head. 

Officer McMahon located a white male matching the description of the fleeing male; the male was bleeding from the mouth, walking on Main Street parallel to where the accident occurred. The male was identified as Eric Ricitelli, 43, of Ansonia. 

Ricitelli had a glass crack pipe in his possession when he was stopped, police said.

Surveillance video from Platt Street showed the blue car driving at a high rate of speed the wrong way on Columbia Street from Main Street. 

The car struck the street sign at Columbia Street and Platt Street, continued across Platt Street striking the curb in front of 35 Platt St. causing the car to roll over into the yard of 35 Platt St. and strike the home. 

The home was unoccupied at the time of the accident and the home sustained minimal damage.

Police said Eric Riccitelli was charged with Evading Responsibility, Reckless Driving, Theft of License Plate, Misuse of Plates, Operating an Unregistered Motor Vehicle, No Insurance, Wrong Way on a One Way Street, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

This is a press release from the Ansonia Police Department.