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The New London County incident happened at around 4:45 p.m. Sunday, June 9, in Griswold, at the intersection of Taylor Hill and Oakville roads.
Connecticut State Police said 35-year-old Franklin Post, of Bozrah, was speeding when he ran a stop sign and collided with a GMC SUV.
Witnesses told police that immediately following the crash, Post and two passengers exited the vehicle and fled the scene on foot.
When troopers arrived, they found his Audi with its driver side door opened and visible damage on the front end, as well as airbags deployed in the other vehicle.
Inside the SUV, 96-year-old Charlotte Delgado, of Branford in New Haven County, was in the second-row passenger seat complaining of significant back pain. She was alert and conscious when troopers arrived, but later died at the hospital, police said.
Another female passenger, a 59-year-old Old Saybrook resident, was treated for minor injuries. The SUV driver, a 68-year-old Old Saybrook man, was unharmed.
The driver told troopers he was driving westbound on Oakville Road after stopping at the four-way intersection when he was struck by another car at a high rate of speed.
Witnesses gave investigators video footage from which they recognized Post from prior interactions.
At around 7 p.m., multiple people called 911 saying that a man matching his description was walking through a wooded area near Jerome Parkway and Norman Road in Griswold.
Troopers located him a short time later behind the Indian Ridge Apartments in Jewett City.
He was found with a plastic bag full of fentanyl pills and had tampered with his court-ordered GPS monitoring device, making it inoperable, according to police. Officers also recovered $4,000 in cash.
During his arrest, Post confessed to having consumed “intoxicating substances” prior to the crash and showed obvious signs of impairment, police said.
He later refused to provide blood, breath, or urine samples and refused to answer any questions.
Post is charged with the following crimes:
- Criminal mischief
- Violation of conditions of release
- Interfering
- Possession of a controlled substance
- Possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell
- Operating under the influence
- Evading responsibility resulting in death
He was arraigned at the hospital and was jailed on $1.5 million bond.
Connecticut State Police asked anyone with information on the crash to contact the agency at 860-848-6540.
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