HARTFORD, Conn. _ A driver livestreamed himself speeding along I-95 across the Gold Star Memorial Bridge near Groton, and then crashing as he rounded the curve of an exit from the interstate, state police said.
Kenneth Hofler, 23, of Middleton, was going at least 102 mph at one point, state police said. He was wearing his seat belt and avoided serious injuries, but was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London to be checked, police said.
Hofler was charged with reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, driving an uninsured car, making an improper turn and possession of more than an ounce of marijuana.
"Sometimes a trooper's accident report writes itself," state police wrote in a Facebook post featuring Hofler's video. "The operator of this vehicle was kind enough to publicly live stream himself traveling over the Gold Star Memorial Bridge while driving at reckless speeds prior to being involved in an accident."
The video shows the car speeding along I-95 changing lanes. A shot of the speedometer has the car going over 100 mph. The video ends with the sound of crumpling metals as the car crashes.
Trooper James D. Matlock was doing speed enforcement along I-95 on the Gold Star Bridge about 11:15 a.m. Saturday when he spotted a red Nissan Versa in the center lane going a lot faster than the other traffic on the highway, according to an incident report. A laser confirmed the Versa was going 102 mph.
Matlock tried to catch up with the Versa and saw it take the exit toward downtown Groton at high speed. When Matlock arrived at the exit he saw that Hofler had taken down about 40 feet of guardrail and rolled the car. Hofler was climbing out of the wreckage and Matlock detained him.
