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Driver In Bridgeport Fatal Crash Who Fled Police Arraigned On Drug Charges

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A Bridgeport man, who police say fled from officers and caused a crash that left one person dead and two injured, was arraigned on drug charges Friday and held on a $350,000 bond.

Joseph Guzman-Rivera

Joseph Guzman-Rivera

Photo Credit: Connecticut State Police

Joseph Guzman-Rivera, 21, of Colorado Avenue, Bridgeport, was arraigned on several drug charges from state police and appeared in court with his arm in a cast and a black eye, the Connecticut Post reported. Guzman-Rivera is on probation for a prior armed robbery arrest, according to the Connecticut Post. 

Guzman-Rivera has yet to be charged in connection to the actual crash that came as a result of his fleeing from state police following a traffic stop on Thursday afternoon, according to police. Additional charges are expected to be filed in the case.

Related story: Driver charged after fleeing police, causing fatal crash in Bridgeport

At about 1 p.m. Thursday, a State Police trooper from Troop G was pursuing a black Infiniti when it stopped in a southbound traffic lane on the highway, State Trooper Kelly Grant said.

When the trooper asked the driver, later identified as Guzman-Rivera, to move to the shoulder, he sped off the ramp of Exit 28 to South Street, she said.

The trooper gave chase and saw Guzman-Rivera's car plow into a car driven by a woman at Iranistan and Railroad avenues, Grant said.

The trooper stopped to treat the woman, who has not yet been identified, and saw Guzman-Rivera continue to drive, hit two nearby adult pedestrians and then flee on foot, Kelly said.

While the trooper was tending to the victims, state K-9 Nero tracked Guzman-Rivera to a basement in a home on Lewis Street. Guzman-Rivera did not know the owners, she said. He was apprehended by state troopers and Bridgeport police and placed under arrest, Kelly said.

The woman driver was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later.

Guzman-Rivera physically assaulted Nero and was taken to Bridgeport Hospital, where he was treated for injuries sustained in the crash, police said.

He was also found in possession of heroin, crack cocaine and powder cocaine, Grant said.

Upon release from the hospital, Guzman-Rivera was transported to Troop G-Bridgeport where he was charged with three counts of possession of narcotics, three counts of possession of narcotics with intent to sell, three counts of possession of narcotics with intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a school, illegal injuring of a police service animal and second-degree burglary, police said.

More charges will likely come from Bridgeport Police, who are investigating the crash and the fatality.

Following his arraignment on Friday, Guzman-Rivera's case was continued to Sept. 11, according to the Connecticut Post.

Click here to read the Connecticut Post story.

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