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Fairfield Police Chief MacNamara Injured After Squad Car Is Rear-Ended

Updated: FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Fairfield Chief of Police Gary MacNamara was hospitalized in fair condition Tuesday morning after his squad car was rear-ended at a red light, Fairfield police said. 

Police Chief Gary MacNamara's unmarked car was hit by a Fairfield woman driving a BMW X3 north on Reef Road, earlier Tuesday.

Police Chief Gary MacNamara's unmarked car was hit by a Fairfield woman driving a BMW X3 north on Reef Road, earlier Tuesday.

Photo Credit: Fairfield Police Department
A light pole was knocked down and a brick building was damaged in the crash in downtown Fairfield near the Firehouse Deli.

A light pole was knocked down and a brick building was damaged in the crash in downtown Fairfield near the Firehouse Deli.

Photo Credit: Salvatore Trifilio
Police Chief Gary MacNamara was injured Tuesday in a car accident.

Police Chief Gary MacNamara was injured Tuesday in a car accident.

Photo Credit: File

The accident happened at about 9:21 a.m. near the intersection of Reef Road and Route 1 in the center of town, police said. 

A 7-month-old child was in the BMW X3 SUV that hit MacNamara's unmarked police cruise, according to a Fairfield Police Department press release.

The woman driving the vehicle was heading north on Reef Road when she slammed into MacNamara's vehicle, which was stopped at a traffic light.

"I had a chance to walk the crash site .... it was pretty dramatic. There was pretty significant damage to the police car and the car that hit him," First Selectman Michael Tetreau said in an interview with the Daily Voice. "We are concerned about the other participants.

"A baby or young child was in the car that hit the chief. The baby was strapped well into a car seat. The mom took advantage of all safety options." 

Tetreau confirmed that an SUV hit MacNamara's police vehicle while it was stopped at a red light, sending him into a parked Volkswagen. The SUV careened across the roadway, went through the patio at the Firehouse Deli, took down a light pole and hit the brick building that houses Victoria's Secret.

"She was going with enough force that it jarred some bricks loose," Tetreau said.

MacNamara, 49, was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital by ambulance, police said.

Three others are believed to have been taken to St. Vincent's Medical Center, according to Bridgeport Hospital Media Relations Coordinator John Cappiello.

Police said MacNamara is "OK, conscious and alert," and Yale-New Haven Hospital confirmed his condition was listed as "fair" at about noon. 

Police said the accident remains under investigation.

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