Oxford Woman, 21, Drives Down Embankment

A 21-year-old local woman escaped serious injury after driving a BMW sport utility vehicle down an embankment and totaling it on Route 67 early Tuesday evening, emergency responders said.

Samanth Diterlizzi, of 4 Butternut Ridge Road, Oxford, was traveling northbound in a 2006 BMW X5 toward the center of Oxford when she veered off the road for unknown reasons just past the Seymour line, according to a police report filed by Oxford Resident State Trooper Michael Dyki, who responded with other emergency personnel.

The accident occurred across from , located at 19 Oxford Road, also known as Route 67, said Fire Chief Scott Pelletier. When volunteer firefighters arrived, the SUV was down an embankment and up against a tree, and Diterlizzi, the lone occupant, was already out of the vehicle, Pelletier said.

He said the woman did not appear to have serious injuries; firefighters stood by as the SUV was towed from the scene by Quality Auto Body. The SUV, which was totalled, is owned by Kevin Matthews, who lives at the same address as Diterlizzi, according to the report.

Diterlizzi, who was wearing a seat belt, was taken by Oxford Ambulance to the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven, the report states.

She was issued an infraction ticket for improper/unsafe turn, according to the report.