A 29-year-old New Havener made 35 phone calls between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. on a Wednesday in mid-October — helping police place him near the scene of a hit-and-run that seriously injured a seven-year-old boy soon after midnight. Roughly five months later, police have now arrested that man on a sl ew of charges related to the crash, including assault and risk of injury to a child. Those details and many more are included in an arrest warrant affidavit written on Dec. 8, 2025, by New Haven Police Officer Michael Rubino. The warrant is for Tymel Barker, who was arrested by city police on March 12 for a hit-and-run that took place at around 12:20 a.m. on Oct. 15, 2025, at the intersection of Ella T. Grasso Boulevard and Goffe Terrace in Beaver Hills. The crash saw the car collide with a family of four — including a father, a seven-year-old boy, and a mom who was pushing a child in a stroller. The crash broke both of the seven-year-old’s legs and caused head injuries, ejected his younger sibling from his stroller, and inflicted minor injuries on his mom. Acting Police Chief David Zannelli and Capt. Nicholas Marcucio announced Barker’s arrest at a press conference at police headquarters last week. They said that the U.S. Marshals Service helped find Barker in Louisiana, and that he was extradited to New Haven. The Independent obtained a copy of Barker’s arrest warrant on Monday. State court records show that Barker is currently being held on a $500,000 bond and has been charged with first-degree assault, two counts of third-degree assault, two counts of risk of injury to a child, and three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, as well as four counts of failure to yield to a pedestrian at a crosswalk, improper use of a marker plate, failure to obey a traffic control signal, insufficient insurance, and operating an unregistered motor vehicle. Barker is being represented by the public defender’s office and has not entered pleas to any of those charges. Rubino’s affidavit states that, on Oct. 15, 2025, officers responded to the area of 1600 Ella T. Grasso Blvd. in regard to “a pedestrian struck with major injuries. They were also notified that the vehicle fled the scene prior to police arrival.” Using Rekor license plate readers, police were able to identify the offending vehicle as a Honda Accord with a Connecticut license plate. The video showed the car strike the victims at around 12:22 a.m. before driving away; four minutes later, video showed that same car in the area of Ella T. Grasso Boulevard and Orange Avenue. At the scene of the crash, police interviewed the victim’s father, who said that his son was struck at Goffe Terrace and the Boulevard. “The child was reportedly dragged southbound along Ella T Grasso Boulevard to Anita Street while still under the vehicle.” West Haven police later located the car on Campbell Avenue. Inside the car was a prescription bottle bearing the name Tyrell Baker and a phone number. At 4:16 a.m., a city police officer called the number and made contact with Tymel Barker, who said that his name had been misspelled on the prescription bottle. “When asked about the location of his silver Honda, he initially stated that when he checked, he saw that it was not outside and that he was currently on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard,” the affidavit states. Barker said he hadn’t checked on his car since the day before. He also said he had the keys to the car and that his dad had a spare key. At 4:35 a.m., an officer met with Barker, who said that he had just returned from celebrating his birthday in Bridgeport and that his girlfriend had dropped him off. “He claimed he left the vehicle at Trinity Temple on Dixwell Avenue before heading to Bridgeport.” On Oct. 17, Rubino interviewed Barker, who said he was sleeping at the time of the Oct. 15 crash. Barker’s dad said that his son had just moved to Connecticut from Louisiana “and he had given him the Honda with the CT misuse marker plate” about a month prior to help his son “get on his feet.” In a subsequent interview, Barker told Rubino that, on Oct. 14, he had gone to Bridgeport in the afternoon with his girlfriend, but couldn’t recall exactly when. He said he returned to New Haven at around 4 a.m. on Oct. 15. That’s when he received his first call from city police asking about the Honda. Barker initially repeated to Rubino that he had parked his car on Dixwell Avenue near Trinity Temple Church before getting a ride to Bridgeport. “He then said he left his keys in the house which would not have made sense if he drove his vehicle to Dixwell Ave. then got a ride to Bridgeport with his girlfriend.” When confronted about that inconsistency, Barker reportedly said his keys could have been left in his car and that he didn’t remember because he was “lit” due to it being his birthday. Barker said he did not know who was driving his car between 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. on Oct. 15. On Nov. 19, police received search warrant results from Verizon for Barker’s cell phone. Those records showed 37 incoming and/or outgoing calls involving Barker’s phone number between 12:12 a.m. and 2:51 a.m. on Oct. 15. The first call — an incoming call at 12:13 a.m. — put Barker’s phone in the area of Ella T. Grasso Boulevard and Goffe Terrace at around 12:20 a.m., where the crash took place at 12:22. Subsequent calls put his phone in the area of Ella T. Grasso Boulevard and Orange Avenue and then Campbell Avenue in West Haven. Rubino wrote that Barker’s phone was involved in 35 calls between 1:06 a.m. and 2:51 a.m., all in the area of Campbell Avenue — near where Barker’s car was subsequently found. Some of those calls lasted for as little as 0 seconds, some as long as 170 seconds, 268 seconds, and — the longest — 1,066 seconds. Many of those calls were between Barker’s phone and a number belonging to someone in Louisiana. Rubino wrote that some of Barker’s outgoing phone calls were also made using *67 “in order to try and conceal who the phone call was coming from.” Rubino wrote that GPS data never put Barker’s phone in the area of Bridgeport, where he claimed to be. Before listing Barker’s criminal charges, Rubino wrote, “I believe probable cause exists to determine that Tymel Barker was operating the Honda Accord at the time of the accident.” The post Warrant: Three-Dozen Phone Calls Led To Hit--Run Arrest appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less