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East Hartford resident Ricardo Figueroa, age 24, was arrested on Thursday, Feb. 16 for his role in a fatal Hartford County crash on Route 2 in East Hartford on March 13, 2022, that left one woman dead, according to state police.
On the day of the crash, which happened adjacent to the Route 2 westbound entrance ramp, a Toyota Corolla with three people inside had collided with a Hyundai Santa Fe occupied by Figueroa.
After arriving at the scene of the crash, state troopers found Figueroa with the Santa Fe, where he claimed that the driver had been an unknown woman who had left the scene. He also told troopers that he did not know what had happened, and did not know the identity of the woman.
While talking with Figueroa, troopers saw that he had suffered a cut to his face that matched a smeared substance in the vehicle, and also noticed that he appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. Troopers then had him take a sobriety test that suggested he might be drunk before he was taken to Saint Francis Hospital for treatment.
Of the three occupants inside the Corolla, 21-year-old Alanys Roche-Suarez of Chicopee, Massachusetts, had been taken to Hartford Hospital with life-threatening injuries and later died on March 15, 2022. The other two passengers, 25-year-old Johannaeliz Gonzalez of Holyoke, Massachusetts, and 27-year-old Kali Miranda of Springfield, Massachusetts both suffered minor and serious injuries, respectively.
As part of the investigation into the crash, police talked to witnesses who said that they had observed the Santa Fe strike the back of the Corolla and that a Hispanic man with a gray hoodie and hat had been standing beside the overturned vehicle.
An accident reconstruction team was then granted a search and seizure warrant that authorized an inspection of the Santa Fe and any data in its event data recorder. Authorities then found that the Santa Fe had been going over 100 mph before hitting the Corolla.
Authorities then collected evidence from the interior of the vehicle that indicated that Figueroa had been the driver at the time of the crash. Additionally, toxicology reports indicated that he had been under the influence of alcohol after the collision.
Based on this evidence, troopers applied for a warrant for Figueroa's arrest which was granted on Wednesday, Feb. 8. On Thursday, Feb. 16, Figueroa then turned himself in and was arrested without incident. He is charged with the following:
- Second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle;
- Second-degree manslaughter;
- Second-degree assault with a motor vehicle;
- First-degree reckless endangerment;
- Third-degree assault;
- Operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
Figueroa was later released on a $125,000.00 surety bond. He will be arraigned in Manchester Superior Court on Monday, March 6.
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