A 21-year-old West Haven man died Tuesday morning after fleeing a Connecticut State Police traffic stop and crashing head-on into a pickup truck on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard in New Haven, authorities said.
Ramy Dasan was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred at approximately 8:40 a.m. on March 24 between Washington Avenue and Truman Street. His passenger, 21-year-old Jonathan Damato of Shelton, was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the other vehicle — a white Ford Ranger — also suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at Yale New Haven Hospital.
New Haven: Trooper Attempted Stop Over Misuse of License Plates
A Connecticut State Police trooper from Troop G attempted to pull over Dasan's black Infiniti G37 on the I-95 northbound Grasso exit ramp after observing the vehicle displaying license plates that did not match it — a violation known as misuse of plates — police said.
Dasan fled the stop at a high rate of speed. The trooper did not pursue the vehicle.
Shortly after, the Infiniti crossed the double yellow line into southbound lanes on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard and struck the Ford Ranger head-on. Both vehicles sustained significant damage from the collision. Emergency crews closed the boulevard for approximately six hours while investigators processed the scene.
Officer Christian Bruckhart, an NHPD spokesperson, confirmed no chase took place. "They were not pursuing, just trying to do their jobs," Bruckhart said. Dashcam footage from the trooper's cruiser and area surveillance cameras both confirmed that no pursuit was underway at the time of the collision, according to police.
Connecticut State Police confirmed that the Troop G trooper made the initial stop attempt, the vehicle eluded, and the trooper later came upon the crash scene.
Passenger Had Seven Outstanding Warrants at Time of Crash
Damato was arrested at the crash site and charged with Failure to Appear in the First Degree and Failure to Appear in the Second Degree. He had seven outstanding arrest warrants with combined bail totaling more than $645,000, according to police records and the NHPD arrest log.
Police confirmed that the Infiniti G37 was not registered to Dasan.
Damato has a prior criminal history in Connecticut. Shelton Police arrested him in May 2025 on two counts of motor vehicle larceny and interfering with a search — charges connected to an investigation into stolen vehicles and organized street takeovers across the state. Officers found Damato hiding in a crawl space at his home at the time of that arrest.
The prior arrest was part of a broader investigation into coordinated vehicle theft activity in Connecticut. Details about the disposition of those 2025 charges were not immediately available.