Teen Faces Charges after 911 Prank
By Michelle Tuccitto, Sullo Naugatuck Valley Bureau Chief, Journal Register Co.
SHELTON — A Shelton High School student has been charged with calling in a phony 911 call after a responding firetruck collided with two vehicles Thursday morning [Oct. 13], injuring one person, police said.
Detective Ben Trabka said the crash was at 11:38 a.m. at Leavenworth Road and Maple Avenue, and the female driver of one of the vehicles was taken to Bridgeport Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police said they got a 911 call from a cellphone at about 11:30 in which the caller said, “Help, fire,” and then hung up.
The call came from the Driftwood Lane area, and police officers and firefighters responded. The firetruck’s lights and sirens were on, Trabka said.
An investigation revealed the call came from a cellphone used by a student at Shelton High School, police said.
He had used another person’s phone for the prank, Trabka said.
The student, 16, was charged with first-degree falsely reporting an incident, and misuse of the emergency 911 system. Police did not release his name because of his age. He was released to the custody of his parents, and is scheduled to appear Oct. 26 in Juvenile Court in Bridgeport.
“He was doing it as a prank, but it had larger repercussions,” Trabka said.
Police have not named the three drivers in the crash. The police Traffic Division is investigating, and has not yet determined who was at fault.
Fire Marshal James Tortora said the firetruck had minor damage to the front bumper.
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