The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘He’s still a human being and it’s tragic’
Those who know man who crashed into hospital call him kind, gentle
MIDDLETOWN — Acquaintances are describing the man who authorities said rammed his car into a hospital emergency room and set himself on fire last week as a gifted and giving person trying to get his life together after a violent past.
Steven B. Ellam, 27, of Middletown remains in critical condition at the Yale New Haven Health Bridgeport Hospital burn unit following the Thursday morning crash at Middlesex Hospital he streamed live on Facebook.
In the 2½-minute video taken as he drove to the hospital, where he intentionally crashed his sedan, Ellam spoke in a flat voice, referred to himself several times as Jesus Christ and appeared to address the president.
“Donald Trump, where are ya? My name is Jesus Christ. I’m in Middletown, Connecticut. I’ve come to expose you as the Antichrist protecting the Illuminati. The 1 percent.
“The 1 percent have been trying to brainwash me to protect the police for I don’t even know how long. I know that you are their protector,” Ellam said. “I’m going to attack one of your headquarters right now — Middlesex Hospital.”
Meanwhile, the hospital is repairing the damage and providing normal emergency services in its outpatient surgical services area, and is closed until further notice. In addition to the shattered front entrance, water and smoke damaged roughly about 90 percent of the space’s walls. As a result, crews are removing the damaged walls, replacing them and restoring the space, according to spokesperson Amanda Falcone.
Middlesex treated 12 patients in its temporary space Friday, and over the weekend, serviced another 103, she added.
Concrete barriers were installed Friday in front of the ER entrance and others were set up Monday at the Marlborough and Westbrook locations. The hospital continues to assess whether barriers are needed at other Middlesex facilities, Falcone said.
Middletown police are continuing their investigation into the incident, with help from the FBI, state and local agencies, according to Lt. Heather Desmond.
Vinnie Scileppi, owner of Illiano’s Ristorante on South Main Street, where Ellam worked, said his former employee abruptly resigned Thursday morning.
“He worked here nine months, he quit in the form of a text message. He came in, he did his job, he did his job well and I never had a problem with him,” Scileppi said.
City resident Jeff Hush met Ellam Feb. 1 at a community meeting about the future of the North End’s Green Street Teaching and Learning Center.
Ellam meant well, offering his help to the Green Street project, Hush said.
“His voice was manic and his manner abrasive, but I could see he was a good man,” Hush said. “He wanted me to respect him, so I did. A slender young man with dark hair, passionate and enthusiastic, he knew how to bake berry pies.”
Hush hooked Ellam up with some farmers who might help him growing berries.
Fellow singer-songwriter Jennifer Shafer Wood was introduced to Ellam through her son, Ellam’s friend, when he turned up at a Monday night open mic at The Buttonwood Tree over a year ago. She said Ellam was trying to get his life back on track.
His criminal record shows several convictions for violent crimes between 2009 and 2014, including first-degree strangulation, third-degree assault and attempt to commit assault. Police said he served jail time under one of his sentences.
In June 2014, Ellam was convicted of first-degree strangulation after a June 2013 incident in which he violently attacked a woman on High Street and punched her repeatedly. Police at the time said he placed two garbage bags over the woman’s head in an attempt to strangle her.
He served 33 months of a seven-year sentence. In July 2016, Ellam’s probation was terminated when he was convicted of felony violation of probation in November 2016, according to judicial records.
Shafer Wood said Ellam made an impression on her as a nice, polite, positive person.
“I’m shocked to read about what happened,” she said.
So she invited him to appear on her “Voice of the City” radio show, which she used to host on Wesleyan University’s radio station. “His songs had edge to them, influenced by the likes of Kurt Cobain, Pearl Jam. He liked the heavier, edgier type of music and he wrote a lot of his own songs.”
Ellam reached out to her a few times since the show aired, said Shafer Wood, who also runs the annual summer Middlesex Music Festival at Middlesex Community College, but she rarely entertains repeat guests.
“I said, ‘You’ve got to put an album together and come back when you have some new stuff.’ (His songs) were dark but that’s what music is — it’s a means of expression,” Shafer Wood said.
Ellam wanted to be a part of the festival, but Shafer Wood told him she was completely booked that year.
“What he did wasn’t good — and I understand, but he’s still a human being and it’s tragic,” she said.
Following the crash, Hush said he played back the voice mail Ellam left him a few days later, in which he offered to bake pies to raise money for the arts center.
“I have a chess table that I’m building, and my goal is to have it be there for all the people of the North End, or whoever’s part of the community center, to play chess on. I’m going to hand carve all the pieces, and I’d love to show you pictures of it,” Ellam’s message said.
Middlesex Hospital is asking anyone who has an immediate emergency to call 911 and an ambulance will bring them to the next nearest emergency department. Also, people are being asked to visit the Westbrook or Marlborough centers for treatment.