This story has been updated to identify the victim of the fatal crash.
FAIRFIELD – Fairfield Police were reminded just how dangerous local roads can be as a 25-year-old moped driver was struck and killed by a vehicle in a hit-and-run accident at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 21.
Fairfield Police Wednesday identified the moped driver who was killed as Juan Otilio Tista Tista of Bridgeport. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.
At this time, the crash remains under investigation, police said.
“We are working closely with the State’s Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to ensure a thorough and accurate review of the incident,” according to a statement released by Sgt. Jenna Wellington. “We understand our community wants answers, and we appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we complete the investigation with the care and diligence it deserves.”
“We extend our sincere condolences to Mr. Tista Tista’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
While it was the first confirmed fatality on town roads this year, the loss of life was among 106 traffic deaths in the state this year, according to UConn’s Crash Data Repository. That compares to 311 reported for all of 2024. Last year Fairfield Police conducted thousands of traffic stops in town. In only the first six months of 2025 Fairfield officers have already made more than 6,000 stops to address unsafe driving behavior, according to Fairfield Police Chief Robert Kalamaras.
As for the June 21 fatal crash, Chief Kalamaras said his department has yet to make an arrest but has someone in custody.
“We did the investigation later in the evening on Saturday” (June 21), said Fairfield Police Chief Robert Kalamaras. “It was a hit-and-run with an individual on a moped, which was struck in the intersection of Post Road and Benson Road near Chick-fil-A. The striking operator fled the scene. We were able to identify him and apprehend him. We brought them in for questioning. We are now putting together evidence for an arrest warrant.”
Witnesses provided police with video of the crash as well as information that led to the identification of the fleeing vehicle driver, according to Fairfield Police.
The unfortunate tragedy turned out to be the backdrop of Monday’s kickoff of First Selectman Bill Gerber’s Safe Streets campaign, which included speeches by Chief Kalamaras, Riverfield Elementary School Principal Mary Rose Dymond, and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz among other state lawmakers. The press conference took place in front of the Fairfield Public Library complete with police and firefighters on hand.
“Complete streets”
Collaborating with the Fairfield Safe Streets Alliance, Gerber, state lawmakers, and local schools officially got out the word on making road safety a priority in Fairfield. The campaign calls for getting the message out to drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists about the importance of being alert and safe on the roads. That includes handing out street signs asking drivers to slow down and carrying out an information campaign to educate all about the literal rules and laws of the road.
The first selectman shared how his work with Chief Kalamaras got the campaign moving with two words – “complete streets.”
“I never heard the term ‘complete streets’ before,” Gerber said. “You should Google it. It’s really about how you engineer streets to be safer. The cool thing about learning about complete streets is that every corner you pull up to, every street you cross you will be thinking about what a complete street should look like. You’ll ask yourself, ‘Why isn’t this curbed out further? Why isn’t safe to cross the street?’ It doesn’t have to be like that.”
While Gerber thanked Sarah Roy, an outreach and engagement specialist with CT Rides and her “street nerds” for teaching about the importance of complete streets, he sang the praises of Chief Kalamaras’ lesson about the “Three E’s.”
“Police Chief Kalamaras taught me the concept of engineering, education, and enforcement,” Gerber said. “Bob told me at a committee meeting that the engineering part is all about the complete street. That’s the way you change the geometry of your roads to slow people down and make it safer.”
Stories of peril
Riverfield Elementary School Principal Dymond and Lt. Gov. Bysiewicz shared personal stories about victims of dangerous driving.
“It just takes one misstep to turn the tide in the other direction,” Dymond said. “I had thought I had experienced that near fatal misstep two years ago. As I headed home from an event on I-95 with my own kids, I got a call from one of our staff. Her voice was panicked as she described the scene she had just witnessed.
“As she was driving on Mill Plain Road and approached the Onquowa Road intersection, she saw one of our fifth-graders being hit by a vehicle. This student was on a bike or scooter, I don’t recall which, and wearing a helmet. I pulled over my own car to get more information and called the school to alert them that their assistance might be required. As the ambulance arrived, we collected the information needed for emergency responders and reached out the parents.”
“Thankfully, the student’s injuries were minimal and treated. However, there was another impact – one that often gets overlooked. It’s the emotional trauma of such an event on the student, the parents, the driver, the onlookers and everyone involved.”
Bysiewicz, who procured a $600,000 connectivity grant to install sidewalks on Reef Road, told a story about her brother who was gravely injured when he was a struck by a hit-and-run driver.
“Here’s why I am a proud road safety nerd,” the lieutenant governor said. “It all started on Nov. 12, 2022. The governor (Ned Lamont) and I were just reelected. I was taking a walk in a park talking on my cell with sister Gail. We both noticed that my sister-in-law was trying to call both of us. So, we joined the call and she was very panicked.
“She was at Yale New Haven Hospital. She said she had to make a very difficult decision about my brother, John, who had been in a bicycle accident. He was taking a bike ride in Guilford. He had been hit by a driver who under the influence and left by that driver on the side of the road. Because of the incline, drivers couldn’t see my brother. Fortunately, a Good Samaritan found him and called an ambulance. He had multiple bone breaks and blood loss.”
My sister-in-law was calling if it was OK if she said to the hospital personnel if they could amputate one my brother’s legs.”
The good news is that 17 surgeries later her brother is walking, biking, and swimming, she said.
The Fairfield Safe Streets Alliance reminds all who use local roads of some of the laws on the books for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists:
- Motor vehicles must give at least three feet of space when passing a bicyclist.
- Drivers should not enter an intersection unless you can go through without stopping.
- Pedestrians are prohibited from walking on the road if a sidewalk is available and to use the shoulder or edge of the road if there is no sidewalk.
- Pedestrians must follow walk/don’t walk signs.
- Bicyclists must follow all traffic signals, signs, and rules of the road just like drivers.
- Cyclists must ride as close to the right side of the road as possible.
Since the hit-and-run crash in Fairfield remains an active and ongoing investigation, police ask anyone with information to contact the Fairfield Police Department at (203) 254-4800. Anonymous tips can be submitted via the Fairfield PD mobile app, by texting the keyword FPDCT and your message to 847411 (Tip411), or online at fpdct.com/tips.
