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Connecticut State Police arrested 18-year-old Nicholas Johnson on Thursday, June 20, nearly a year after the Windham County incident took place in the town of Brooklyn.
On June 25, 2023, Johnson (a Moosup resident who was 17 at the time) was reportedly driving a Toyota Prius southwest on Allen Hill Road when, at the intersection of Wauregan Road, he ran a stop sign and turned left, causing the car to spin out just before 4 a.m., slamming into a tree before sliding down an embankment.
Original Story - Fatal Crash: Girl ID'd As Victim, 4 Others Hospitalized After Car Hits Tree In Windham County
Johnson had four passengers in the car – one in the front passenger seat and three in the back, who had not been wearing seatbelts, according to one of the victim’s statements.
Nearly half an hour after the crash, Johnson and another victim reportedly knocked on a nearby resident’s door, asking for help but asking for the resident to not call the police.
Emergency responders took Chanelle Edwards, age 15, of Griswold, to Day Kimbal Hospital in Putnam, where she was pronounced dead later that morning.
Another victim, 17-year-old Bryce Burditt, was transported to Plainview Hospital but later needed to be airlifted to Hartford Hospital. He died on July 4, 2023.
According to the arrest warrant against Johnson, his blood alcohol content (BAC) was measured at 0.11 percent after the crash.
Witness statements indicate that Johnson and some of the car occupants were drinking together before the crash, though the names of anybody else involved were not released by police.
A surveillance video from a McDonald’s near the crash site showed the Prius hit the curb before getting in the drive-through line. The crash occurred around 10 minutes after the car left the restaurant.
Johnson turned himself in following his arrest warrant. He is charged with:
- Manslaughter with a motor vehicle, two counts;
- Assault with a motor vehicle, two counts;
- Operation by a person under 21 years old while BAC exceeds two-hundredths of one percent;
- Failure to drive in the proper lane;
- Making an improper turn;
- Traveling unreasonably fast; and
- Failure to obey a stop sign.
He was released on a $275,000 bond and is scheduled to appear at Danielson Superior Court on Monday, July 1.
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