Car chase onto I-84 in Danbury turns fatal

At approximately 6:21pm, Oct. 8, Danbury Police were led on a car chase by a driver of a stolen, white SUV, who later fled from the vehicle near the I-84 Interstate highway. The fleeing felon opened fire on the officer, who then fired shots back, killing the fugitive.

"A life threatening situation ensued, resulting in a trooper discharging his weapon," Kelly Grant, Connecticut State Police spokesman, said.

Sage Baker, 17, was on Beaver Street when she saw the SUV "running away from two cops," she said. "If another car would've been coming, they would've been done."

Photos by News Times.

The incident brought traffic to a stop in both directions of the I-84 Interstate highway. Around 9pm, one motorist reported to the Danbury News Times that the westbound was completely closed off near Exits 4-5.

Numerous Facebook posts appeared on news feeds, warning people not to get on the highway or even the main roads because of unexpected, immense amounts of bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Around 10-pm on Oct. 8, the News Times tweeted via Twitter: "Traffic backed up to I-84 Exit 9 heading westbound in wake of tonight's shooting near Exit 5. No problem with eastbound I-84 traffic."

Five hours after the shooting occurred, around 11:05pm, Exits 4-5 and one westbound lane were still closed off and the amount of traffic was still a "nightmare."

Works Cited

@NewsTimes. Web log post. Twitter.com. 8 Oct. 2010. Web. 8 Oct. 2010.

Singh, Viniti. "Police confirm deadly shooting on I-84." News Times 9 Oct. 2010. Hearst Comminications, Inc. Web. 9 Oct. 2010.