An Ansonia man was charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence in connection with a fatal head-on crash in Woodbury in 2023, state police said.
Isiah Turner, 25, is facing charges of second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, second-degree assault with a motor vehicle, illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, failure to drive on the right side of the roadway and failure to wear a seat belt for the fatal crash on July 29, 2023, according to the Connecticut State Police.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, state police were dispatched to a two-car motor vehicle crash just after 10 a.m. on Route 6 near Constantine’s Restaurant in Woodbury on July 29, 2023.
A Subaru Baja Sport driven by Robert Gardner, 56, of Woodbury, was traveling westbound on Route 6, southwest of the driveway for Woodbury Place Condominiums when a Dodge Dakota pickup truck driven by Turner reportedly crossed over the double yellow line and struck Gardner’s vehicle head-on, the warrant affidavit said.
Gardner was killed in the crash and his passenger, a 65-year-old woman, was rushed to a hospital with serious injuries, according to state police.
Turner, who had minor injuries, allegedly told state police at the scene that, just prior to the crash, he had applied his brakes and his vehicle pulled to the left, the warrant affidavit said.
Turner claimed that “the caliper had frozen up” and could not recall how fast he was going, according to the warrant affidavit. He reportedly told police his car was not registered and was not wearing a seat belt, the warrant affidavit said. At that time, state police secured Turner’s cell phone.
A witness told state police he was following behind Turner’s Dodge at about 40 mph when he reportedly saw the pickup truck make a sudden movement to the left and cross over the double yellow lines into the southbound lane where it hit the Subaru. The witness claimed that Turner exited the vehicle, was stumbling around and fell onto the roadway, the warrant affidavit said.
Approximately an hour after the crash, state police took a sworn written statement from Turner. According to the warrant affidavit, Turner explained that he was traveling northbound on Route 6 from Ansonia on his way to pay a bill in Woodbury driving around 40 mph. As a mechanic, Turner claimed that he believed he experienced a brake malfunction that caused the vehicle to “jerk left and collide head-on with the vehicle in the southbound lane,” the warrant affidavit said.
Turner reportedly told police he last consumed alcohol at 8 p.m. on July 28, 2023, and stopped around 2 a.m. on July 29, 2023, the warrant affidavit said. He alleged that he was using the GSP on his cell phone for directions. He claimed that he was not holding it but had it positioned in the cup holder, according to the warrant affidavit.
The warrant affidavit said that, around 1:20 p.m. and 1:45 p.m. detectives from the Connecticut State Police Collision Analysis Reconstruction Squad inspected the two vehicles involved in the collision. Detectives performed a brake test on the Dodge while still at the scene, according to the warrant affidavit. The brake test reportedly indicated that the brakes on the Dodge were working properly, the warrant affidavit said. The state police said they observed the two front wheels, brakes and rotors of the Dodge and reported that they did not smell any smoke or see any burn marks, according to the warrant affidavit.
On the afternoon of Nov. 17, 2023, state police met with the passenger in Gardner’s vehicle and obtained a sworn written statement. She reportedly told state police that before the crash, she noticed that a pickup truck was “driving strange in the oncoming traffic toward them,” the warrant affidavit said. She told state police that Gardner slowed down but the “truck suddenly switched into their lane and, without slowing down, struck their vehicle head-on,” according to the warrant affidavit.
On Jan. 29, 2024, Turner signed the consent to search and examine his medical records from Saint Mary’s Hospital following the collision, the warrant affidavit said. According to the warrant affidavit, the records allegedly revealed that “Turner’s urine tested positive for cocaine, oxycodone, opiates, cannabinoids and a component of alcohol with a value of 46mg/dL. The lab advised this value reveals Turner’s BAC was 0.03%.”
Based on the results of the investigation, state police requested a warrant for Turner’s arrest saying they had probable cause to believe that he was operating the car “while under the influence of alcohol, drugs and/or both causing a collision which resulted in the death of another operator as well as serious life-threatening injuries to a passenger,” the warrant affidavit said.
Turner turned himself into Troop L in Litchfield on Monday on an active arrest warrant and was being held on a $200,000 bond. He was later transferred to the custody of the Department of Corrections and was scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday at Waterbury Superior Court.
