Derby Police seek info on 3-vehicle crash Saturday on Roosevelt Drive

Ansonia man charged in connection with fatal accident on Pershing Drive

Isac Saravia

 

ANSONIA - Police arrested Isac Saravia, 26, of Ansonia Wednesday as part of the investigation into the Sept. 24, 2025 fatal motor vehicle accident on Pershing Drive involving Adonis Lapuppet-Bligen. 

Saravia was charged with reckless endangerment first degree and reckless driving. 

He posted a  $75,000 bond and is to appear at Derby Superior Court for arraignment on Nov. 12, Lt. Patrick Lynch said today in a release.

During the course of the investigation detectives learned that Saravia was driving his own car following closely behind the car driven by Lapuppet-Bligen right before the accident where Lapuppet-Bligen died. 

With the assistance of the Fairfield Police Department Accident Reconstruction Unit it was determined that Saravia and Lapuppet-Bligen were travelling approximately 80 MPH just prior to the accident, Lynch said. The investigation was unable to establish probable cause that the cars were racing. 

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has concluded their investigation: Lapuppet-Bligen’s cause of death was blunt force trauma and manner of death was accident. 

A toxicology report showed that Lapuppet-Bligen had a blood alcohol content (BAC) at the time of the accident of .089, a BAC of .080 is considered intoxicated in Connecticut.

 

Chief Williams thanks the Connecticut State Police, Derby Police Department, Fairfield Police Department, Ansonia Fire Department, and Ansonia Public Works for their assistance in the investigation. 

He also commends the Ansonia Police Department’s Detective Bureau and Patrol Division for their work in investigating the incident.

 

All arrestees are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

This is a press release from Lt. Patrick Lynch.

Ansonia Police identify fatality in accident on Pershing Drive

ANSONIA -The fatality in the motor vehicle accident Wednesday on Pershing Drive has been identified as Adonis Lapuppet-Bligen, 27, of Ansonia, Lt. Patrick Lynch said today in a release. 

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined Lapuppet-Bligen died of blunt force trauma. Based on the information gathered so far in the investigation Lapuppet-Bligen was the operator and only occupant of the car when it struck a telephone pole.

This investigation is still active and anyone who was in the area and saw the accident is asked to contact the Ansonia Police Department at 203-735-1885 or anonymous tips can be left at Tip411 at the link below.

https://www.tip411.com/tips/new?alert_group_id=21553

This is a press release from Lt. Patrick Lynch.

Ansonia Police release video of motor vehicle accident; arrest expected

ANSONIA - As part of the investigation into a motor vehicle accident this past Monday, Oct. 7 at the intersection of East Main Street and Kingston Drive, video was recovered showing the accident. 

From the video, speed is a factor in the crash and based on the initial investigation alcohol may have been a contributing factor, Lt. Patrick Lynch said in a written release. 

The investigation is ongoing and an arrest is expected.

Video link below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15mp_BOoDmFKKp4Sp0OAsTRMLvYfTZ-4G/view?usp=drive_web

This accident serves as a reminder that speed and driving under the influence can have devastating consequences. 

The Ansonia Police Department would like to remind all drivers to drive safely, obey the speed limit and not drive under the influence.

This is a press release from Lt. Patrick Lynch.

Ansonia Police arrest city resident for involvement in motor vehicle accident

Roland Collier

  

ANSONIA - The Ansonia Police Department today arrested Roland Collier for his involvement in a July 16, 2021 motor vehicle accident on North Main Street and Third Street, Lt. Patrick Lynch said in a written release. 

During the July 2021 accident, Collier refused to stop for the police, struck a car and a pedestrian and then fled the scene on foot. 

There was a male passenger in Collier’s vehicle who also fled the scene and has yet to be identified. Shortly after the accident, Collier was arrested in Massachusetts on unrelated charges and remained in custody there until today, Lynch said.

 

Collier, 49, of Ansonia was charged with assault first degree, reckless driving, engaging in pursuit, evading responsibility, reckless endangerment first degree and criminal mischief third degree. 

Collier is being held on a court set $70,000 bond and will be arraigned Tuesday in Derby Superior Court.

This is a press release from Lt. Patrick Lynch. 

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.