The man who is accused of hitting and killing Connecticut State Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier on I-84 in Southington in May, then leaving the scene, has accepted a plea deal.
The man who is accused of hitting and killing Connecticut State Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier on Interstate 84 in Southington in May, then leaving the scene, has accepted a plea deal.
Alex Oyola-Sanchez, 44, of Hartford, will spend 18 years in prison.
Trooper Pelletier left behind his wife, Dominique, and two young sons, Troy and Zachary.
Dominique Pelletier spoke in court on Tuesday and said she wanted the man accused of causing her husband's death to serve a 30-year sentence.
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“I stand before you today in the same dress I wore to bury my husband, the same dress I wore to hold my two little boys in while they cried tears for their father, the same dress I never imagined I’d be wearing again. Never imagined I’d be standing before a courtroom fighting for justice for my husband’s wrongful death,” she said.
“I feel it is unfair to allow this man to enter back into society while our children are still minors. How am I supposed to protect them from this evil?,” she said.
State police said Trooper Pelletier had stopped another driver on I-84 East in Southington and Alex Oyola-Sanchez, 44, of Hartford, went into the shoulder, hit Pelletier and his vehicle, and kept going until his tire failed on I-84 East in Farmington.
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Oyola-Sanchez was charged with manslaughter in the second degree, operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol, evading responsibility death and additional charges.
He was captured moments after the crash and he was arrested, state police said.
According to the arrest report, Oyola-Sanchez told police he took fentanyl, cocaine and what he believed was Klonopin before the incident.
Oyola-Sanchez is being held on $1.5 million bond and he will be sentenced in April.
