MILFORD — A woman headed home to Brooklyn says a masked man grabbed her purse and phone in seconds while she finished pumping gas at the Interstate 95 northbound service plaza in Milford — and she is sharing the story so other drivers lock their doors and keep their bags with them.
Andrea Tamasi told WFSB she was driving home to Brooklyn, N.Y., on Sept. 17, 2026, when she stopped for gas at the northbound plaza — a stop she said she has made many times before. According to that interview, a white sedan pulled up beside her while her car was off and unlocked; a masked man got out, grabbed her belongings, and fled.
What Tamasi says happened
In comments carried by WFSB on Sept. 22, Tamasi said:
“I was just about to get in my car and drive away and that’s when I noticed my stuff was literally leaving the door. And then, the door was flinging.”
She told WFSB:
“The crazy thing is my phone was actually plugged into the car. So, they took that. And then, they took my full purse, which had my wallet, my ID, my apartment keys, which I didn’t realize until I was back home, which was a little scary.”
Patch (Sept. 22), summarizing Tamasi’s social-media account of the same incident, reported she arrived about 7:25 a.m. with her two dogs in the back seat, had finished pumping gas, and opened the driver’s-side window when she saw the theft. Patch quoted her:
“I see my bag and my phone being lifted into the air.”
Patch said Tamasi estimated the whole episode lasted 10 or 15 seconds, and quoted her: “In that moment, I’m in complete shock.”
Milford Voice has not independently interviewed Tamasi; quotes and sequence details above are attributed to WFSB and Patch coverage of her account, and to Patch’s summary of her social video.
Good Samaritan, then troopers
Tamasi told WFSB she met a good Samaritan and used his phone to call state police. She said troopers are investigating and hope witnesses will come forward.
Patch identified that helper as Richard Abiti. She recalled that Abiti told her: “You’re safe and okay and that’s what matters.” She told Patch: “I needed someone saying that because I wasn’t thinking about that.”
Patch reported she said he was “so kind,” gave her his phone so she could call her parents and police, and said he was like her “guardian angel.” Abiti told WTNH News 8, according to Patch, that Tamasi was “devastated” and that he “just approached her and tried to speak to her and check on her.”
Police took an incident report, according to Patch. As of the Sept. 22 WFSB and Patch reports, Connecticut State Police were investigating and no arrest had been announced in those stories.
Tamasi’s safety message
Tamasi told WFSB she wants the thieves caught, but also wants other drivers to learn from what happened:
“I wish I looked at the license plate or tried to get a better view of the characteristics of the person because those are the questions you get asked. And it’s so scary when you’re talking to the police, and they’re asking these questions. And you’re like, wait, I didn’t get that. Like, I don’t know.”
On staying safe at the pump, she told WFSB:
“I just want people to stay aware. And not in a sense of like living in fear, but just being mindful of your surroundings. And especially when pumping gas. I never locked my car and I always leave my purse in my front seat. And I will never do that again.”
Patch carried this public warning from her social account:
“If it isn’t clear, I’m sharing this because I hope others don’t make the same mistake I did. Lock your doors. Have your bag, phone, and keys on you. Everything I didn’t do, I hope others will do after seeing this so it doesn’t happen to them.”
How to tip investigators
Anyone with information about the Sept. 17 theft at the Milford I-95 northbound service plaza is asked to contact Connecticut State Police Troop G at 203-696-2500, according to Patch’s Sept. 22 report (citing WTNH).
The Connecticut Service Plazas operator lists the Milford NB location on I-95 between Exits 40 and 41.
Got a tip about public safety in Milford? Email news@milfordvoice.com.