Police have located a driver involved in a crash on Interstate 84 in West Hartford early Saturday morning who left the scene and his or her car.

The driver lost control, hit a guardrail and flipped over in the car near Exit 40 on I-84 at about 2:30 a.m. Police couldn't find the driver when they arrived and began a search in the woods, on side roads and along the highway for hours. They also looked at area hospitals.

Officers eventually located the driver at home in Hartford. Police haven't released the identity or gender of the driver at this time, but said that the person escaped with minor injuries.

No one else was hurt, according to police.

The car, a Jaguar, sustained major damage and air bags deployed. The windshield was smashed and the back of the car was crushed in the crash. The car is registered to a female.

A witness said that the motorist was driving in the left lane and may have hit the exit too early before the crash, but State Police have not confirmed the cause of the accident.

State Department of Transportation crews responded to the scene to repair the road. West Hartford police and area firefighters also responded and assisted with the search.

The crash remains under investigation. Police said it's likely the driver will face charges, but no arrests have been made at this time.

Firefighters from multiple towns are responding to a fully involved house fire in Hebron Saturday afternoon, according to Tolland County Dispatch.

Hebron firefighters responded to a house fire at 324 Jagger Lane around 3:15 p.m. The smoke could be seen from half a mile away, according to witnesses.

The Hebron fire chief said that while no injuries were reported, 90 pecent of the home was destroyed. It took seventy firefighters and nine departments one hour to get the fire under control.

Officials said the fire was difficult to fight because the home was set back from the road and firefighters had to bring in the water supply. 

No one was inside the home at the time, according to fire officials. Neighbors say the homeowners have a 2-month-old and two 4-year-old-children.

Mutual aid included firefighters from Andover, Bolton, Columbia, Marlborough, Glastonbury and Manchester.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Hartford police are searching for a 15-year-old girl who went missing after an argument with her mother.

Ivette Duran is described as 5’1, 130 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Police say she was last seen Satruday near the intersection of Garden Street and Walnut Street in Hartford, around 7 p.m. She was last seen wearing a black leather jacket, peach colored jeans, a blue t-shirt and blue sandals.

Duran was reported missing after she got into an argument with her mother and ran from the house, according to police. She is not a habitual runaway, and police do not believe she is a danger to herself or others.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is encouraged to contact the Special Investigations Division at 860 757 4041 or 860 757 4236.
 

A Corona man was arrested after an investigation into a marijuana-growing operation at his home led to the discovery of pot with an estimated street value of more than $2 million, police said Saturday.

YongTing Yan was arrested for cultivation and sales of marijuana, according to a Corona Police Department news release.

On Thursday night, detectives were investigating Yan’s home in the 300 block of Villafranca Street (map) and allegedly found more than 1,600 marijuana plants in various stages of growth. More than 5 pounds of packaged pot intended for sale were also discovered at the residence, officials said.

Yan also faces charges of theft of a public utility. Police said electrical lines at the home had been tampered with.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut

After robbing a bank in the Clairemont area, a bandit led San Diego police on a pursuit Saturday afternoon that ended with the suspect crashing into a police car, officials said.

The robbery happened around 1:40 p.m. at a Wells Fargo Bank in the 5500 block of Balboa Avenue. The suspect made a verbal demand for cash, but did not brandish a weapon, police said.

After getting some money, the suspect fled the scene in a silver Nissan truck, leading officers on a chase along several streets including Mount Acadia and Clairemont Mesa boulevards, as well as Field Street.

The pursuit lasted about 10 minutes, police said. A helicopter was launched to help spot the suspect by air.

After making his way to westbound Interstate 8 and the Sports Arena Boulevard off-ramp, the suspected bank robber struck a police car. He then kept driving and hit a bystander's car, police said.

The driver fled the crash scene on foot, but was ultimately arrested moments later.

Officials have not released the suspect's name, but he seems to match the description of the notorious "El Chaparrito." The bank robber nicknamed for his short stature has struck more than a dozen banks in the San Diego area since last November.

Bank robberies are on the rise in San Diego, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI said there were 61 bank robberies by this time last year, but there have already been more than 80 this year.

Police said no one was injured Saturday's bank heist or pursuit.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut

A northern Virginia woman has received her high school diploma this weekend after waiting 75 years for the honor.

Jane Pickett, who lives in Burke, Virginia, also turned 93, and celebrated the milestones with her family and friends.

She was supposed to graduate in 1939 from her high school in the New York area. But Pickett fell in love with her high school sweetheart.

“I got married the same day I would have graduated from high school,” Pickett said.

Her daughter surprised her with an honorary diploma from the school this weekend after reaching out to the school.

“All the neighbors came over and she had absolutely no idea,” said Sharon Mills, Pickett's daughter. “Cousins came into town. Kids came home from college. But she had absolutely no idea this is what we were doing for her."

The school sent the diploma with a graduation sash and other gifts.

Cyclists are weaving through the city streets of Hartford Sunday morning, competing in the Connecticut Cycling Festival races.

The first race started a little before 9 a.m. and there will be different races throughout the day.

The the amateur race is underway and professional races start early afternoon. Cyclists are riding a figure 8 course. It starts on Asylum Avenue by the XL Center and covers a one-mile circuit through four downtown city blocks on Ann Uccello, Pearl and Allyn Streets. The racers will also travel on part of Trumbull Street between Pearl and Asylum.

There are hundreds of cyclists from all across the state participating in the races.

"It's pretty intense 45 minutes of your heart rate getting way up there. It's hurts, but it's fun," cyclist Grant Gorczyca, of Higganum, said.

Many of them are on teams and have spent a considerable amount of time training.

"You know when it's raining it's always a challenge," cyclist Jonathan Quiza, of Fairfield said. "It's like a mental game. So I'm just trying to win."

Hartford police have the area blocked off, so seek alternate routes if you're traveling through the capital city on Sunday. 

A motorcyclist was killed in a crash on Cook Avenue in Meriden on Saturday night.

Police identified the driver as Davaina Berube, 47, of Meriden.

Berube was driving a 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle in the southbound direction on Cook Avenue at 6:37 p.m. Saturday when she lost control of the vehicle, police said. She veered off the right side of the road beyond the New Hanover Avenue intersection and flipped over in an abandoned gas station parking lot.

Police closed Cook Avenue for about four hours while they investigated.

Hunter Ambulance personnel treated Berube at the crash site and drove her to MidState Medical Center in Meriden. She died at the hospital due to her injuries from the crash, police said.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash, according to the preliminary police investigation.

Police ask anyone who witnessed the crash to call the Meriden Police Accident Reconstruction Unit at 203-630-6201.

In this week's episode of Decision 2014, NBC Connecticut wraps its arms around the race for governor as it approaches seven weeks until election day.

Political Reporter Max Reiss interviews Gov. Dan Malloy who acknowledges that his bid for reelection is the"political fight of his life." Gov. Malloy talks about his record on taxes and jobs and even pledges to keep tax rates flat if he's reelected to the job he's held since January 2011. The governor proclaims that the race in 2014 "is about choices" and the "future of Connecticut."

Republican candidate Tom Foley, who's running for the state's highest office for the second time, says he has the plan for Connecticut to emerge from the economic doldrums. Foley pledges to work to trim the state's sales tax rate, in addition to working to cut several business taxes. Foley even says he would work to eliminate some taxes that cost more to collect than they actually provide in revenue.

In a preview for Sunday's edition of Meet the Press, Anchor Gerry Brooks discusses Connecticut's campaign season with NBC's Moderator of the Meet the Press Chuck Todd.

Episode 11 – The Candidates Speak
 

• WATCH: Max Reiss interviews Gov. Dan Malloy.
• WATCH: Todd Piro interviews with Tom Foley.
• WATCH: "Meet the Press" Moderator Chuck Todd tells Gerry Brooks what he's hearing about the Connecticut gubernatorial race in Washington D.C.

A serious crash in Tolland has closed some lanes on Interstate 84 West.

The left and center lanes are closed near Exits 67 and 68 due to the accident, State Police said.

No further details were immediately available.

Willimantic police are investigating after an early morning home invasion Sunday.

Police said it happened around 6 a.m. Three female residents were at their home at Jackson Street when two male suspects entered and demanded cash, according to police.

One of the victims dialed 911 from her bedroom closet, according to police. By the time police arrived the suspects had already fled.

One of the residents was assaulted during the incident. Police said her injuries were minor and she was not transported to the hospital.

Police said this appears to be a random incident and that there is no immediate danger to the public. Anyone with information on this incident should call the Willimantic Patrol and Detective Division at 860 465 3135.
 

WATCH: Steel Drum Party on I-76

A group of motorists stranded on I-76 in Pennsylvania turned the headache of the standstill traffic into a communal steel drum and limbo party on the highway. A car flipped over in the I-76 eastbound lanes about a mile from the King of Prussia exit Saturday afternoon.

Motorists emerged from their bumper-to-bumper parked vehicles and gave new meaning to a traffic jam.

"It was better than being stuck in a snowstorm," said Justin Berk of Baltimore, who was en route to the Philadelphia Half Marathon. "I've been stuck in a lot of traffic jams and got out and people started talking to each other."

The result was a chance meeting of Berk and David Gettes of Trinidad North Steel Drum Band & Company. Gettes and percussionist Paul Downie were traveling from the Muhlenberg International Festival in Reading to Media when they got stuck.

Just after 2 p.m., Gettes pulled out his steel drum and played a pop-up set of island sounds for 15 minutes as motorists danced in a limbo line.

"We were struck in the traffic. We saw people around us frustrated. I know the magic of the (steel drum) instrument. It was not taking any toll on me to do that so why not," said Gettes.

Berk pulled out his camera to record the fun. He said the stranded motorists worked together to make the best of a bad situation.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut

One person was killed and several injured after a tour bus overturned in Delaware.

The bus was traveling in the southbound lanes of state Route 1 at Red Lion Road near the off-ramp of Route 13 in Bear, Delaware when it somehow overturned.

• Family Becomes LGBT Advocates After Suicide
  

At least one person was killed in the crash while several people are in critical condition, according to State Police.

Around 50 people were on the bus at the time of the crash, according to investigators. A Delaware State Trooper also told NBC10 the bus has no markings on it and officials are unsure of its origin and destination.

• Man Sentenced for Carjacking, High-Speed Chase

Elvis D'cruz of New Castle, Delaware tells NBC10 he was driving home with a friend when he spotted the overturned bus. The two quickly got out of their vehicle to help the victims.

"It must've been within five minutes of the crash," D'cruz said. "There were about two to three other civilians there helping out. The bus had flipped over onto its side and some people were still underneath it. The bus was completely in a ditch." 

• 4 Kids Killed in Pa. Crash Weren't Restrained

D'cruz described the crash scene as total chaos.

"People didn't know what to do," he said. "There was no one else at the scene. Within 15 minutes, State Police arrived."

A Delaware State Police helicopter and a Maryland State Police helicopter both arrived at the scene to transport victims. Some of the injured passengers were flown to the Christiana Medical Center while others were taken to the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

• Rifle Carried by Ambush Suspect Found: Police

D'cruz says the passengers appeared to be foreigners.

"They were mixed in race," he said. "There were a few people speaking Mandarin and a few people speaking Hindi, Portuguese and Spanish."

According to D'cruz, the Route 13 off-ramp has a history of accidents.

"They're used to be a guard rail," he said. "People would go highway speeds on it even though you're supposed to slow down. People kept on slamming into the guard rail but it would stop them from flipping. They later on removed the guard rail and put flags up." 

Route 1 northbound is currently closed at Route 13 at Tybouts Corner due to the accident. The Route 1 southbound ramp is also closed at Tybouts Corner.

This story is developing. Stay with NBC10.com for updates.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut

Police are investigating after a Yale University graduate student was assaulted Saturday night. Yale police say the incident was an attempted robbery.

According to police, the student was walking alone around 8:30 p.m. on Lawrence Street, near Orange and Livingston Streets, when he was approached by two teenage males on bicycles. One of the suspects showed a handgun and struck the victim. The suspects then fled on their bicycles. The victim suffered minor injuries.

New Haven police are investigating the incident. Anyone with information should contact Yale police at 203 432 4400.

Yale reminds its community members to be aware of your surroundings at all times, and to walk or jog with others when possible in well-populated and well-lit areas. Police also remind community members to utilize security services, such as the shuttle service and door-to-door rides at night.
 

Charlottesville, Virginia, police have issued an arrest warrant on charges of reckless driving for a man they call a "person of interest" in the disappearance of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham.

Police have not charged Jesse Matthew in Graham's disappearance, but Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo said he believes Matthew was the last person to see Graham.

“I believe Jesse Matthew is the last person she was seen with before she vanished off the face off the earth,” Longo said at a media briefing on Sunday. "But somebody knows where she is. And we want to know who that person or persons are.”

Longo said Matthew arrived at police headquarters on Saturday and asked for a lawyer. After speaking to the lawyer, Matthew left the station without talking to detectives.

Longo said after Matthew left, he was being overtly followed by state and federal officials. Matthew then sped away from police at a high rate of speed.

Longo said the speed was so great that police disengaged from the pursuit.

Hannah’s father, John Graham, spoke publicly for the first time Sunday, appealing to anyone with information to come forward.

“Who saw Hannah?” asked John Graham, during the press conference, with his wife, Sue, standing next to him. “Somebody knows what happened to Hannah.”

The father expressed gratitude to more than 1,000 volunteers who combed Charlottesville where Graham was last seen, on Saturday and Sunday.

“We have been utterly overwhelmed by the generosity of the spirit of all the people we’ve met,” he said. “This is every parent’s worst nightmare. We need to find out what happened to her so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

Graham expressed hope that his daughter would be found alive.

"'Hannah is brilliant, resilient, determined and loves life more than anybody else I know."

He read an email from Hannah's former teacher, who wrotte: “If anybody could get through this, it is Hannah."

The chief, in an emotional statement, said Sunday that Matthew was the person seen in surveillance video walking with Graham before she disappeared more than a week ago.

He wants anyone who saw Graham or Matthew that evening to contact police as soon as possible.

Longo thanked people who were involved in the search this weekend as well as those who emailed him from all over the country, saying “you rose to the occasion, you stepped up to the plate.”

Virginia Department of Emergency Management’s Mark Eggeman said nearly 2,000 people searched for clues into Graham’s disappearance. Eggeman said he spent his daughter’s birthday with searchers, saying, “No place I’d rather be.”

Hannah Graham has been missing since early on September 13. She was seen in surveillance video along the city's Downtown Mall.

A man, who police believe is Matthew, is later seen wrapping his arm around Graham's waist. Police say the two then entered a Charlottesville restaurant during the early morning hours of September 13, where the man bought alcohol and later left in a burnt-orange car.

"We have every reason to believe Ms. Graham was in that vehicle," said Detective Sgt. Jim Mooney of Charlotteville police.

Police searched the man's apartment and car and even talked to him -- but stopped short at calling him a suspect. When asked if the man had a criminal history, Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo said he has "had contact with police."

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut

Police have released the identity of one person killed in a late night shooting in a Bridgeport neighborhood Saturday.

Curtis Stephens, 35, was shot in the head and killed as he was entering his home at 179 Monroe Street, police said. The shooter fled on foot, according to police.

Bridgeport police received a call just after 11 p.m. Saturday reporting shots fired on Monroe Street and found his body on the porch when they arrived. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

"This is very active investigation," Bridgeport Police Chief Joseph Gaudett said. "Detectives are pursuing leads and we are working to support the victim's family in any way we can."

Crime scene tape was still up as police investigated at the multifamily home until about 6:19  a.m.

It's not clear at this time if police have identified a suspect.

Police ask anyone with information to call Det. Robert Winkler at 203-581-5224.

More information will be provided when it becomes available.

The Founders Bridge in Hartford and East Hartford has reopened after it was closed due to a bus fire.

No one was on board when a new CT Transit bus caught fire, according to State Police. SkyCam footage shows that the vehicle was a new CTfastrak bus for the state's high speed busway project between Hartford and New Britain.

The bridge was closed to inbound traffic and cars were turned around, according to State Police.

Police say a sand truck was called in to absorb some fluids and tow the bus from the scene.

No one was injured.

The bridge was closed for several hours.

A truck drove off the freeway and landed in a restaurant parking lot Sunday afternoon, a drop of at least 50 feet.

The crash happened around 3 p.m. on northbound Interstate 805 in Mission Valley.

A tan vehicle tapped the back of a yellow Ford pickup truck, forcing the truck to spin out and flip over the guardrail, according to the California Highway Patrol. The truck fell at least 50 feet into the parking lot of Dave and Buster's at 2931 Camino Del Rio North.

Emergency crews pulled a man from the wreckage and rushed him to Sharp Memorial Hospital with major traumatic injuries, according to CHP. However, officials said he was alert and talking to firefighters.

“He’s lucky he landed the way he did, and he’s fortunate to be alive,” said Capt. Chad Willenberg with the San Diego Fire Department.

Officials did not release the victim’s name, but said he is in his mid-30s. He was the only person inside the truck.

The truck hit Dave and Buster's on the way down, leaving a gaping hole in the building. It did not cause any structural damage, according to the fire department. Broken glass and debris filled the back parking lot.

Julie Melia was inside the restaurant-arcade at the time of the accident. She said she didn’t know anything had happened until she saw the mangled truck.

“It looked very bad. You don’t know how somebody could survive that,” Melia said.

No one at Dave and Buster’s was injured.

Witnesses told CHP the tan vehicle was driving erratically before forcing the truck off the road.

“The SUV continued northbound on the 805. We don’t have a license plate or description of the driver,” said CHP Officer Jose Meza.

CHP is now looking for a tan SUV or truck with a camper shell and damage to the left side. The driver could face felony hit and run charges.

CHP issued a Sig Alert for the area. The transition ramp from westbound Interstate 8 to I-805 was closed for hours.

Check back for updates on this developing story.
 

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut

A cleanup effort by multiple agencies is underway for an oil spill from a World War II-era ship that now serves as a tourist attraction in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf.

The United States Coast Guard and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are investigating the fuel spill that occurred Saturday near Pier 45.

Coast Guard personnel received a report at 10:56 a.m. that an undetermined amount of oil spilled into the bay from the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, a fully functional World War II Liberty Ship. The Coast Guard said that it immediately dispatched a pollution response crew to assess the spill and recover the discharged fuel.

The Coast Guard told NBC Bay Area that a barrel of crude oil ruptured causing the fuel to go overboard. No more than 50 gallons made it into the bay, officials said. The ship is currently closed to tourists. There is currently 6,000 feet of boom around the ship, the Coast Guard said.

According to the Coast Guard, the fuel spill's source has been secured. A Coast Guard MH-65 helicopter and a small boat investigating the spill found a 100-by-150-yard sheen in the area of the spill. Vaccum trucks and skimming vessels carried out recovery operations Sunday, officials said.

"On-scene coordinators are working diligently with Wish and Wildlife to ensure the SS Jeremiah O'Brien is taking every action necessary to achieve a prompt and satisfactory cleanup effort," the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The cause of the fuel spill remains under investigation.

OSPR at #SFBay spill near SS Jeremiah O'brien. Boom deployed, assessments & wildlife monitoring underway.

— Cal Spill Watch (@CalSpillWatch) September 21, 2014

A 50-year-old Little League coach died after he was hit in the head with a baseball during warm-ups before a game on Long Island over the weekend, authorities said.

Richard Becher, of Holbrook, was hit with the baseball while pitching batting practice to his 12-year-old son's team before a game Saturday afternoon at Baseball Heaven, a baseball facility in Yaphank, Newsday reports.

According to police, bystanders were performing CPR on an unconscious Becher when officers and paramedics arrived.

He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.