Back on Nov. 9, we brought you the story of a New Haven County couple that was killed in a car accident with a police officer in June 2009. At that time, the criminal trial against the officer, who has since been fired from the Milford force, was found not guilty of vehicular manslaughter but the judge sent the jury back to deliberate further because it wanted to find him guilty of lesser charges.
Since then, the officer has been convicted of reckless driving and misconduct with a motor vehicle. Sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 16. In the meantime, a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of one of the collision’s victims has settled its lawsuit against the city of Milford. The estate of the 19-year-old woman will receive $4 million from the city and the parents of her boyfriend as part of the settlement.
As we discussed on Nov. 9, the police officer, 37, responded to a call early in the morning of June 13, 2009. He was driving his police cruiser more than 90 miles per hour but was not running his emergency rights or siren. The officer struck a car with a pair of 19-year-olds inside, killing both of them.
The city of Milford will pay the woman’s estate $3.5 million through its insurance carrier. The parents of the woman’s boyfriend, who was driving at the time of the accident and had allegedly been drinking, will pay $500,000, also through insurance.
The former police officer who caused the fatal accident could face up to 10 years in prison at sentencing in the criminal case.
