A construction worker died after a vehicle drove through a construction site in Hartford on Wednesday afternoon and struck him, according to police.
Police arrested the man who is suspected of being involved and the suspect's attorney said in court that his client was having a seizure at the time of the incident.
Jose Diaz-Nieves, 54, of East Hartford, was struck in the area of West Boulevard and South Whitney Street around 12:12 p.m. Police said the driver who hit him also struck some equipment and a dump truck.
The crew had a trench in the road and a flagger was at the site, directing traffic.
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It appears that a driver going at a high rate of speed went right through the construction site and hit the victim, police said on Wednesday afternoon.
Jose Diaz-Nieves died at the scene, police said.
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After the crash, the vehicle became disabled and stopped, police said, and they were speaking with the driver.
Authorities said the driver, identified as 25-year-old Tommy Nguyen, of Hartford, was arrested.
Nguyen is facing charges including manslaughter, reckless driving, risk of injury to a minor, operating without insurance, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, operating with a suspended license, failure to use a child safety seat and improper use of a marker plate. His bond has been set at $1 million.
He appeared in court on Thursday and his attorney said Nguyen has a history of seizures and was having one when the incident happened.
The attorney asked the judge to lower the bond to $25,000, but bond remains at $1 million.
According to information from the court appearance, Nguyen was returning from the grocery store and a 5-year-old and Nguyen's grandmother were in the vehicle he was driving.
They were taken to the hospital and their injuries appear to be non-life threatening.
OSHA responded to the scene. The investigation is active and ongoing.
Nguyen has another court appearance set for July 8.
