Police: Drunk driver hit female soldier statue

Monument in Sprague toppled by vehicle that ran through stop sign

State police say a drunk driver smashed a statue of a female combat soldier in Sprague on Monday, a heartbreaking incident for veterans who cherished one of the few memorials that singled out their service.

“This statue went a long way to show female vets that they mattered, so we’re just heartbroken,” Sen. Cathy Osten, commander of the local American Legion Post, said Tuesday.

The crash happened after 10 p.m., when Tyler James Gaudette, 27, failed to stop at at a stop sign at Main Street and Route 207 in the Baltic section of the Eastern Connecticut town, state police said. The 2005 Nissan Murano struck the curb, went over a stone wall and into a stone bench before striking the bronze statue of the soldier kneeling beside another sculpture of a rifle and boots, the iconic symbol of a dead warrior.

Gaudette, of Vernon, who was not hurt, failed sobriety tests and was arrested on charges of driving under the influence, traveling too fast for conditions, failure to stop for a stop sign and possession of controlled substances (pills), police said. He was released without having to post bail and is to appear in court on Dec. 17, police said.

Osten, who served in the U.S. Army from 1974-78, said repairs will begin as soon as possible. The town owns the memorial park where the statue was dedicated on Veterans Day last year, so insurance coverage should be available, initially from the town and later from Gaudette, Osten said. First Selectwoman Cheryl Blanchard said local officials have been in touch with the town’s insurance company.

The statue was snapped from its pins, but not badly damaged — just some scrapes and scuffs, Osten said.

“The site needs some work to reposition her and the pins that fix her in place need replacing,” she said Tuesday evening. “We have moved her inside for safekeeping.”

The American Legion post had raised $50,000 for the statue over about five years, hosting spaghetti dinners and other events. Thelongterm plan was to install statues of both female and male veterans, but post members decided to get the female soldier in first because they had not heard of another memorial in the state to military women, Osten said.

“A lot of veterans came to the (2019 Veterans Day) event in tears because they said they never had a statue that looked like them,” she said.