A woman with 51 previous criminal convictions has been accused of causing a fatal car accident that took the life of a 70-year-old Connecticut woman on Easter. The defendant, age 45, is accused of driving away from the scene of the car accident. The victim in this case was the mother of a highly decorated member of the Stamford police force. Officers report that the at-fault driver was intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Authorities say that the accident occurred at about 6:45 p.m. on Easter Sunday, when the victim was crossing the street. The driver, who was behind the wheel of a minivan, decided to cross over the yellow line to pass two cars that had stopped so the woman could walk across the road. Witnesses said that the driver was traveling so quickly that she sent the victim flying into the air upon impact, and that woman’s shoes were knocked off. She was thrown beneath another car that was parked alongside the street. The victim was leaving a family member’s house at the time of the incident.
The at-fault driver then continued to cause mayhem after fleeing the scene, crashing head-on into another driver. The motorist in that vehicle attempted to stop the woman from fleeing, but the minivan driver apparently threatened to run her down. Another woman followed the minivan and alerted authorities to the license plate on that vehicle.
Pedestrians in Connecticut should not have to worry about a negligent driver running over them, especially when they are using a designated crosswalk. This reckless driver is facing allegations of second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle while intoxicated, along with felony leaving the scene of an auto accident. She may also be liable for civil costs related to the auto accident, which could lead to compensation for the relatives of the car accident victim.
Source: Stamford Advocate, “Mother of Stamford police officer killed in hit-and-run” John Nickerson, Apr. 21, 2014