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Joseph Guzman-Rivera, 24, of Waterbury, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Kevin Russo in Bridgeport for the crash which took place on Thursday, On Aug. 10, 2017, after he failed to stop for the police.
Guzman-Rivera apologized to the family via video during sentencing at the Bridgeport Correctional Center.
The crash took place when Guzman-Rivera fled from a State Trooper on I-95 and sped down Bridgeport streets, causing the fatal crash, state police said.
At about 1 p.m., a State Police trooper was pursuing a black Infiniti when it stopped in a southbound traffic lane on the highway, State Trooper Kelly Grant said.
When the trooper asked the driver, later identified as Guzman-Rivera, who lived in Bridgeport at the time, to move to the shoulder, he sped off the ramp of Exit 28 to South Street, she said.
The trooper gave chase and saw Guzman-Rivera's car plow into a car driven by Susan Tomczyk, of Bridgeport, forcing her Toyota sedan into a cement wall, according to police.
The trooper stopped to treat Tomczyk, and saw Guzman-Rivera continue to drive, hit two nearby adult pedestrians, and then flee on foot, Kelly said.
Tomczyk was pronounced dead an hour later at St. Vincent’s Medical Center.
While the trooper was tending to the victims, state K-9 Nero tracked Guzman-Rivera to a basement in a home on Lewis Street. Guzman-Rivera did not know the owners, she said.
He was apprehended by state troopers and Bridgeport police and placed under arrest, Kelly said.
Guzman-Rivera physically assaulted Nero and was taken to Bridgeport Hospital, where he was treated for injuries sustained in the crash, police said.
He was also found in possession of heroin, crack cocaine, and powder cocaine, Grant said.
Last January, Guzman-Rivera pleaded guilty to manslaughter, two counts of assault, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, cruelty to animals, and interfering with police.
His sentencing date was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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