BRIDGEPORT – A Fairfield man and one-time Bridgeport drug kingpin who lost both of his feet below the ankles in a crash on Route 8 last year wants a judge to order state police to reveal information he says about the other driver involved.
On November 1, 2025, at approximately 12:45 p.m., the man, Ronell Hanks, was traveling north in the right lane of the Shelton two-lane highway near the Exit 9 ramp. A Porsche that passed him in the left lane “swerved” toward his vehicle, causing Hanks to swerve, lose control and hit a guardrail, his attorneys wrote in court documents.
The impact “caused the guardrail to cut through the petitioner’s vehicle and completely amputate” Hanks’ feet, and the vehicle “came into flames,” the document states.
A Tesla driving in front of the Porsche captured video of the crash just seconds before. On the vehicle’s front-facing camera, the sound of screeching tires can be heard, before the sound of an impact is shown on the right side of the frame.
“Oh my God,” a voice can be heard saying in the video. “I just saw someone die.”
The 28-page document, known as a “Fair Discovery Act Application,” says the Porsche driver “fleeed the scene” despite being “aware that he or she forced the petitioner off the road and caused the horrific collision.”
It claimed that “the video alone is sufficient to conclude that the driver of the black Porsche breached motor vehicle regulations” including reckless driving, failing to maintain a lane, evading responsibility, and “there was also actionable negligence and/or reckless conduct”. State police had information about the Porsche because a witness provided them with license plate details, documents say.
According to a state police summary of information after the crash, “preliminary information” showed that Hanks’ vehicle, a 2021 BMW M5, was traveling northbound when it “ran directly off the roadway,” then hit a guardrail and “was engulfed in flames.” Troopers rescued Hanks and placed a tourniquet on his leg before taking him to St. Vincent Hospital in Bridgeport. The summary states that the case is under investigation and asks anyone with information to contact the investigating officer, Patrick Miko.
Hanks’ filing asks a judge to force state police to “provide information limited to the identification and insurance information of the driver and owner of the black Porsche” and order Miko to testify for “limited investigative purposes” regarding the information.
Hanks, 36, was sentenced in February 2015 to 17 years in federal prison for leading a heroin trafficking organization in Bridgeport’s Trumbull Gardens public housing project. He was granted compassionate release in February 2022 after citing his asthma and the COVID-19 pandemic in court documents, court records show.
At the time of the crash, Hanks was facing federal probation revocation proceedings stemming from his arrest in Derby last April on charges of third-degree assault, disorderly conduct and risk of injury to a minor in connection with a domestic violence incident. His attorney in the case, Christian Young, declined to comment.
During a remote hearing this week, Hanks’ civil attorney, James Walker, said his client is still in the hospital with a prosthetic foot and has missed legal deadlines for potential damages lawsuits, such as if the person was a city employee or was drunk after getting drunk at a bar.
“Given the catastrophic injuries my client suffered, he may not receive adequate compensation,” Walker said.
Assistant Attorney General David Yale, who represented the state at Monday’s hearing, said the doctrine of sovereign immunity should bar Hanks’ actions and that some of the information cannot be released because the matter remains under investigation. What information is available can be obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, he said.
The State Police Freedom of Information Act request process often takes months or even years. While Yale said the administration sympathizes with Hanks, he should call his representatives if he has questions.
“If the freedom of information process is inadequate, it’s up to the legislature to fix it,” he said. “They put it in place and manage those types of requests.”
Walker said sovereign immunity does not apply because Hanks is not technically suing the state and he filed a Freedom of Information Act request but received no response.
“Of course, they told us ‘no, there’s no police report because the investigation is not complete,'” he said. “So it’s not a sufficient means of obtaining information.”
After hearing arguments in the case, Judge Janet Figueroa Lascos said she would issue a written ruling at Hanks’ request.
This article was originally published on Fairfield man who lost both feet in crash captured on video searches for ID of driver who got away in Porsche.
