A Connecticut state trooper has resigned following her arrest for allegedly lying about how her cruiser was damaged in a crash, authorities announced Friday.
Samantha Jade Ping Stella, 28, was arrested Thursday evening and charged with falsely reporting an incident in the first degree, misuse of the emergency 911 system, evading responsibility involving injury or property damage, and failure to drive in the proper lane.
The charges stem from an incident on Oct 21, when 28-year-old Stella called a sergeant in the early morning to report that a black hatchback vehicle had struck her cruiser in the westbound lane of Interstate 84 in Danbury and fled the scene.
The sergeant told Stella to use the police radio to inform other troopers so they could be on the lookout for the evading vehicle. As dispatchers used emergency channels to notify Danbury EMS of the incident, Stella was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital.
The cruiser had minor damage to the front right bumper, the right front fender and was missing some parts, but upon inspection the sergeant did not notice any markings indicating that another vehicle was involved, officials said.
The next day, an anonymous witness contacted another trooper to report being told that a police cruiser was seen driving into the grass median and striking a pole while traveling on I-84 West in Southbury, according to the arrest affidavit.
About a month after the incident, an investigator contacted Stella by phone to inquire about the crash. She then admitted she was never hit by a car, but instead lost control of her cruiser after getting distracted when she looked down at her computer while driving at 65 miles per hour. She said she lied about the incident because she was “embarrassed.”
She turned herself in Thursday night on an outstanding arrest warrant, officials said. She was released on $10,000 bond and is expected to return to court on Jan. 22.
Since being hired by the state police in September 2021, Stella has had four self-reported and documented crashes involving police cruisers.
