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Isiah Turner was arrested on Monday, June 24 for the Litchfield County incident, Connecticut State Police said.
The 25-year-old was driving a Dodge Dakota eastbound on Route 6 in Woodbury just after 10 a.m. when he reportedly crossed over the yellow lines, crashing headfirst into a Subaru Baja traveling west.
Original Report - Fatal Head-On Crash: 56-Year-Old CT Man ID'd As Victim
Robert C. Gardner, age 56 of Woodbury, was killed in the crash. A passenger, 65-year-old Woodbury woman whose identity was not released, was seriously injured.
Turner, who is from the New Haven County town of Ansonia, originally told police that he had a brake malfunction, using his background as a mechanic to explain that he thought the caliper had locked up on the front driver’s side of the truck, forcing him to jerk to the left and over the yellow lines.
However, Connecticut State Police said that a post-collision inspection of the Dodge pickup showed that the brakes were working properly. In addition, Turner was found to not have been wearing a seatbelt and was driving an unregistered vehicle.
Also injured in the crash, Turner was taken to Saint Mary's Hospital in Waterbury, where he tested positive for cocaine, oxycodone, opiates, cannabinoids, and alcohol. His blood alcohol content was measured at 0.03 percent.
After turning himself in on an active arrest warrant, Turner was charged with the following:
- Manslaughter with a motor vehicle;
- Assault with a motor vehicle;
- Illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
- Operating an unregistered motor vehicle;
- Failure to drive on the right side of a roadway; and
- Failure to wear a seatbelt.
He was held on a $200,000 bond and was scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, June 25 at Waterbury Superior Court.
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