Police: Cromwell man ‘blacked out’ in crash that killed tow truck …
A Cromwell man was high on what he believed to be heroin and “blacked out” when he crashed and killed a tow truck driver[1] on Interstate 91 in North Haven last spring, according to Connecticut State Police.
Luis Resto, 55, was charged Monday with second-degree manslaughter and other offenses in connection with the incident. He is being held on a $50,000 bond and is scheduled to next appear in state Superior Court in Meriden on May 17.
The incident occurred on May 21, 2022 at around 6:20 p.m. Troopers were called to I-91 North near Exit 10 in North Haven for the report of a crash involving a pedestrian. Initial reports indicated the vehicle that hit the pedestrian continued on the highway before becoming disabled near Exit 14 in Wallingford, state police said in a news release[2] Wednesday.
Investigators determined that, at the time of the collision, Christopher Russell, an Ellington resident, had been walking back to his tow truck when Resto’s red Nissan Rogue drifted from the right lane, through the acceleration lane and partially into the right shoulder when it struck Russell, according to state police.
Resto then continued on the highway for nearly 5 miles before colliding with a wire rope guardrail in the center median, state police said.
Russell, 38, was pronounced dead at the scene, state police said.
In an interview with investigators, Resto said before the crash he left a friend’s house in New Haven and bought a small bag of heroin, state police said.
Resto confirmed to investigators that he had consumed the drugs before getting onto the highway and “blacked out” while driving, state police said. Resto also told police he did not recall getting into a crash. He said he just remembered paramedics transferring him to a stretcher.
Detectives later searched Resto’s vehicle and seized a wax paper fold containing a white powdery substance, state police said. A forensic examination determined the substance tested positive for fentanyl and xylazine, a veterinary sedative, according to state police.
A woman told police she pulled over to the shoulder around 6 p.m. that evening when she got a flat tire. Russell then pulled up behind her Mazda in a tow truck and asked if she needed help changing her tire. Russell told the woman he was done working for the day and was heading to Windsor to drop off the tow truck, state police said.
After changing her tire, Russell returned to his truck and the woman got in her vehicle. As she was getting ready to pull away, she felt something hit the back of her car. She then saw a red vehicle going north in the right lane, according to state police.
The woman got out of her car, saw some damage to her car, and discovered Russell unresponsive on the ground and without a pulse. The woman started CPR until police, fire and emergency medical personnel arrived, state police said. The woman told police she never saw the red car pull over.
A trooper went to the disabled vehicle near Exit 14 and saw a red Nissan Rogue visibly damaged. The driver, identified as Resto, was unresponsive and emergency medical personnel suspected he was under the influence of narcotics, state police said. After being provided medical treatment at the scene, Resto became more alert and was taken to Midstate Medical Center for further evaluation.
During the investigation, police spoke with a witness who provided dash cam footage of the incident. The witness explained they had been traveling on I-91 and recalled seeing a tow truck with flashing yellow lights. Then, at Exit 12, they saw a red SUV crash into the right metal guardrail five or six times, state police said. Traffic began to slow down due to the vehicle’s erratic operation, according to state police.
The witness told police they lost sight of the vehicle for a while, but then saw it strike the guardrail on the left side of the road and stop in the left shoulder near Exit 14, police said.
The witness stopped their vehicle, approached the SUV and saw a man in the driver’s seat “gasping for air” and “incoherent,” state police said. The witness also told police they saw a vape-like object in the driver’s hand, according to police.
Resto turned himself in to state police on Monday. He was charged with second-degree manslaughter, first-degree reckless endangerment, misconduct with a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs/alcohol, evading responsibility resulting in death, failure to maintain the proper lane and illegal operation failing to move over for an emergency vehicle.
Liz Hardaway may be reached at [email protected]
References
- ^ he crashed and killed a tow truck driver (www.nhregister.com)
- ^ state police said in a news release (www.cspnews.org)