Overview
- Trooper Samantha Jade Ping Stella turned herself in at Troop L in Litchfield on an outstanding warrant and was released on $10,000 bond.
- She faces counts of first-degree falsely reporting an incident, misuse of the emergency 911 system, evading responsibility, and failure to drive in the proper lane.
- Stella initially reported on Oct. 21 that a black hatchback struck her cruiser on I-84 West near Exit 2 in Danbury, triggering radio alerts and an EMS response.
- A supervising sergeant noted no transfer paint on the cruiser, and troopers later found tire marks, a broken metal pole, and silver debris in Southbury that matched missing parts from her vehicle.
- About a month later, Stella admitted she drifted off the road after glancing at her in-car computer at roughly 65 mph; she has since resigned and is due in court on Jan. 22.