DHS: Wrong-Way Driver in Deadly CT Crash Had Been Removed Before

A 21-year-old University of New Haven hockey captain who hoped to wear an NYPD badge was killed in a wrong-way crash in Connecticut, and the Department of Homeland Security now says the pickup driver involved had been removed from the United States before and came back illegally, according to Fox News Digital.

Ryan O’Shea, a senior from Stony Point, New York, was driving south on Interstate 91 in North Haven at about 11:45 p.m. on Oct. 16 when a pickup truck traveling north in the southbound lanes struck his Honda Accord head-on, Connecticut State Police said, as reported by the CT Post. Police said the impact pushed his car into another lane, where it was hit by an SUV, and then onto the right shoulder, where another SUV struck it.

Aspiring NYPD officer killed by twice-removed illegal immigrant in tragic Connecticut car crash https://t.co/FFPu4vRD2R pic.twitter.com/GZ6cAhZipp

— New York Post (@nypost) October 31, 2026

O’Shea was pronounced dead at the scene, Fox News reported. The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner listed the cause of death as “blunt impact injury of head, neck, torso and extremities,” according to the New Haven Register. The pickup’s driver, a 31-year-old Bridgeport man identified in the state police accident summary, was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries, police said. Three other people suffered minor injuries, according to Fox News.

What DHS says about the driver

A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Border Patrol arrested the man in May 2013 after he illegally entered the country, and that he “was issued an expedited removal and was removed from the country.” According to the department, he then illegally reentered near the Rio Grande Valley and was arrested by Border Patrol again that same month.

The spokesperson said he was issued a final order of removal on May 30, 2013, and “then reentered the country at an unknown time and place,” Fox News reported. The New York Post also reported the DHS account on Friday.

“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences,” the DHS spokesperson said, according to Fox News. “Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.”

No charges had been announced in connection with the crash as of the latest reports, according to the Connecticut Centinal, which said it had asked ICE whether a detainer would be issued. The State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad is assisting with the investigation, which remains ongoing, Fox News reported.

A future officer

O’Shea was a criminal justice major with a concentration in police science, university officials said in a social media post, as reported by the New Haven Register. He interned with the New York City Police Department last summer and hoped to start his career there, according to the university.

Fox News reported that O’Shea served as senior captain of the men’s club hockey team and was returning from a game when the crash happened. He hoped to eventually pursue a career with the Drug Enforcement Administration after joining the NYPD, the university said, according to Fox News.

Why it matters

The case lands days before the midterm elections, with immigration enforcement and cooperation between sanctuary jurisdictions and federal authorities still a central issue. According to DHS, the driver had a final removal order dating back more than 13 years, yet he was living in Bridgeport at the time of the crash, as identified by state police.

The Connecticut Centinal reported that Gov. Ned Lamont declined to acknowledge the driver’s immigration status. Daily Beltway will follow whether prosecutors file charges and whether ICE moves to take custody once he is released from the hospital.

Sources

• Fox News
• New York Post
• CT Post
• New Haven Register
• Connecticut Centinal

Reporting by Daily Beltway.