Man purposely crashed car into Middlesex Hospital, set himself on fire, officials say

A car crashed into Middlesex Hospital in Middletown on Thursday. A car crashed into Middlesex Hospital in Middletown on Thursday. Photo: Cassandra Day / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Cassandra Day / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Man purposely crashed car into Middlesex Hospital, set himself on fire, officials say 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

MIDDLETOWN — Police have identified 27-year-old Steven Ellam of Milardo Lane as the man who they allege crashed his car into the Middlesex Hospital emergency room entrance and set himself on fire.

Ellam was airlifted to the Bridgeport Hospital burn unit after the crash on Crescent Street Thursday morning, officials said.

“It was intentional, but we are not going to speculate as to why,” Mayor Dan Drew said. “Based on eyewitness statements, we believe he then set himself on fire.”

About 30 people were in the emergency room at the time and all were evacuated safely, hospital staff said.

“At this time we believe this is an isolated incident,” Drew said. “No one else was hurt.”

Ellam was carrying a number of gas cans with flammable liquid inside the silver sedan he crashed into the hospital at about 10 a.m., officials said. Ellam drove down Crescent Street and hit the building, traveling inside, officials at the scene said. The car’s bumper was flush with the sidewalk, and even an hour after the crash, the Chevrolet could be seen inside the hospital. The car caught fire after it collided with the building, said witnesses on the second floor of the hospital at the time.

Middletown Police Chief William McKenna declined to speculate on Ellam’s motive.

Ellam has never been on the FBI’s radar, Special Agent in Charge Patricia Ferrick said.

In 2016, Ellam was assigned a probation officer, Middletown Police Capt. Gary Wallace said, but it isn’t yet known whether he was on probation. Wallace said he has served time for at least one arrest. Ellam’s arrest records date back to age 14, Wallace said.

Ellam’s arrest record includes several convictions for violent offenses, according to judicial records.

NOW: State police and @FBI on scene at Middletown house connected to suspect of Middlesex Hospital ramming incident. Police tape around the house .@FOX61News' @JvittalTV and #Sky61 are on the scene. pic.twitter.com/aLx64DnNil — newsbell (@newsbell) February 22, 2018

He was convicted of attempt to commit second-degree assault and third-degree assault in November 2016 in connection with a March 2016 attack, and sentenced to five years in jail. The execution was suspended after three years probation.

In November 2016, Ellam was also convicted of first-degree strangulation after a June 2013 incident in which he violently attacked a woman on High Street, punching her repeatedly. Police at the time said he placed two garbage bags over the woman’s head in an attempt to strangle her.

The victim managed to make a hole in the bag to get more oxygen. Police said she pretended to be unconscious so Ellam would stop, but instead, he allegedly told her, “I know you’re not dead yet” and punched her in the face.

For that incident, Ellam was sentenced to seven years in jail, execution suspended after 33 months, with three years of probation.

“There are no reports he was aggravated by anything or anybody else,” McKenna said about Thursday’s incident.

There was no significant damage to the building, Middlesex Hospital Vice President of Operations David Giuffrida said.

“This will be a crime scene for quite some time,” McKenna said.

“The individual is known to Middletown PD, as to what level I cannot say right now,” McKenna said early in the day. “He has been in our system multiple times.

“We do believe with the amount of resources on scene right now, we will get to the bottom of it.”

Police and fire personnel later Thursday were at the man’s Middletown home on Milardo Lane, which is off Farm Hill Road and near Woodrow Wilson Middle School. The neighborhood was evacuated and others were under a shelter-in-place order. Houses on each side of the street appeared to have been evacuated.

“It’s secure and we feel very comfortable that no other person would be in harm if something did catch fire,” the chief said Thursday afternoon.

Officers entered Ellam’s home to do a precautionary sweep but were waiting to obtain a search warrant Thursday evening to conduct a full investigation, according to Middletown Police Capt. Gary Wallace.

Bomb squads from the FBI, Hartford and state police were on scene at the house and hospital, police said.

“That is out of an abundance of caution, not because anything was wired or connected,” Drew said earlier Thursday, adding, “We usually go back far enough so if something were to explode there would be no danger.”

Officials have called in assistance from other municipal, state and federal authorities.

As a precaution, all Middletown schools had an officer stationed on site Thursday, as well as other public facilities, Drew said.

“I want to be clear that it’s early in the investigation and we do not know this individual’s motives,” Drew said.

Investigators are now reviewing video footage from inside the hospital.

No charges have been filed against Ellam.

The emergency room will be closed Friday, and all non-emergency surgery, lab testing and outpatient radiology appointments are canceled. No patient visitors will be allowed unless there are special circumstances, Giuffrida said.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Public Health is sending portions of its field hospital to Middlesex while the emergency department is closed.

Commissioner Dr. Raul Pino said in a press release he anticipates the three-unit mobile unit will be ready by morning. Personnel from the Department of Correction who serve on the Correctional Emergency Response Team will assist DPH personnel with erecting the 40-bed temporary hospital, which has its own HVAC and power.

The field hospital will be staffed by Middlesex Hospital personnel.

Those in need of medical attention without calling 911 are asked to go to Marlborough Medical Center, Backus Hospital in Norwich, Hartford Hospital or any other hospital or urgent care center.

Drew said of the situation Thursday, “as tragic as it is, as difficult as it is for our community to contend with, had very limited overall damage, in part because of the quick response from hospital staff, police officers and firefighters.”

Crescent Street is a one-way street, but there is no indication the driver was traveling in the wrong direction, Middlesex Hospital spokeswoman Amanda Falcone said.

“Everyone just scrambled. In the basement, you could smell the smoke coming from the ED. Everybody was evacuated out the back entrance,” a witness at the scene said.

“We saw the fire and all the sprinklers going off,” another witness said.

Police shut down the area from Main Street Extension to South Main Street as at least a dozen firefighters from the downtown Middletown and Cross Street stations, and Westfield Volunteer Fire worked the scene.

Anyone who wants to check on patients at Middlesex Hospital or reschedule their appointments can call 860-358-6000.