crash investigation

Police K9 Finds Man Who Fled After Multi-Car Crash in Naugatuck

Naugatuck Police cruiser
NBC Connecticut

A police K9 is being credited with finding a man who fled the scene after a multi-car crash in Naugatuck on Friday.

Officers were called to a two-car crash at the intersection of Prospect Street and Union Street.

When they arrived, they said they found heavy front-end damage on an unoccupied red Toyota Camry. Police said the driver and any potential passengers of this vehicle had left the scene.

Inside of the vehicle, officers said they saw a child car seat in the back seat and witness statements indicated that when the driver of the vehicle left the scene, he was seen taking something out of the back seat.

Additional officers responded to the scene to help search for a potentially injured driver and child.

During the investigation, police said they learned the driver of the vehicle was 26-year-old Austin Cyr and there was a warrant out for his arrest.

As the investigation progressed, authorities said they found the object Cyr had removed from the back of the vehicle. It was not a child, but it was his mother's dog, they added. The dog was found tied to the fence behind a home in the area.

An officer and a K9 were called to track Cyr and began tracking behind the homes on the south side of Prospect Street. The K9 successfully led officers to Cyr's location which is described by police as being under a tarp and inside of a large plastic garbage bin.

Cyr was taken into custody and was charged with evading responsibility resulting in injury/property damage and following too closely. He was also processed for his original warrant for failure to appear, according to police.

He is being held on a combined $5,000 bond and will appear in Waterbury Superior Court on Monday.

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