West Hartford Police sid the driver of a box truck involved in a crash that closed lanes of Albany Avenue for hours on Tuesday has been charged with operating under the influence.

A box truck struck a guard rail and damaged a utility pole on Albany. Avenue on Avon Mountain on Feb. 17, 2026. Courtesy of West Hartford Police

By Ronni Newton

A single-vehicle crash resulted in the closure of eastbound lanes of Albany Avenue on Avon Mountain for several hours on Tuesday, and West Hartford Police announced that the driver involved now faces of charges of operating under the influence as well as failure to drive in the proper lane.

According to West Hartford Police Capt. Aaron Vafiades, the crash occurred at approximately 9:03 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

He said the driver was identified as Koby Champagne-Lambert, 25, of East Hartford.

Champagne-Lambert was driving a box truck east on Albany Avenue, when he “struck the south side guard rail, then went off the roadway, making contact with a utility pole and coming to rest on a rocky ridge covered in snow along the roadside.”

Police said the injuries suffered by Champagne-Lambert due to the collision were minor, but he was determined to be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, and had a BAC of 0.12.

The damage to the 2020 Hino box truck was extensive, completely disabling the truck which had to be towed by a heavy wrecker and rotator truck from Central Auto that responded to the scene.

Eastbound lanes of Albany Avenue were closed to traffic for multiple hours for clean-up of the damage, police said.

Champagne-Lambert was released after posting $5,000 non-surety bond and is due in Hartford Superior Court on Feb. 26.

Anyone with additional information related to this investigation is asked to contact West Hartford Police at 860-523-5203 or via the anonymous tip line 860-570-8969 or email [email protected].

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