The stepfather of a young boy who died after crashing his go-kart at a Meriden park in April is now facing charges in connection to his death.
Steven Stolfi, 30, was charged with two counts of risk of injury to a child this week, six months after the tragic crash.
It was early April when Stolfi and his stepchildren, 6-year-old Adrian and his 4-year-old brother, were out riding a go-kart at Kronenberger Park in Meriden.
“A fun day turned into a disaster,” said Kali Warzecha, the boys’ mother. “The worst possible thing that could ever happen to somebody.”
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Adrian was in the driver’s seat of the go-kart, his brother the passenger, when they took off at a high rate of speed, according to the arrest warrant, with Stolfi chasing after them and yelling for him to stop.
Suddenly, Adrian crashed into a closed gate, suffering a traumatic head injury. Both boys were wearing helmets, Warzecha said.
“Some days are OK and I can get through the day with some normalcy. I have other children I have to take care of. But some days it physically hurts to get out of bed. It physically -- like a part of me was ripped from me,” she said through tears Tuesday afternoon.
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According to the warrant, police said the go-kart was “homemade and modified by Steven Stolfi.” Police had it inspected, and wrote that the body was from a Dune-Racer Power Wheels toy car “designed and sold to be powered by a 12v battery” with a top speed of 5mph.
However, police said the go-kart had a gas engine, and was able to be operated “at top speeds of 28mph” with “no protective measures” like seatbelts and harnesses.
But Stolfi said it wasn’t homemade, it was a kit he ordered, and he followed the instructions.
“If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have even built the go-kart if I knew this would be the outcome of it. It haunts me every single day that I built a go-kart and he passed away on it,” Stolfi said. “All the throttle linkage, the brakes, those were all purchased from a power sports company. Those were all installed to the manufacturer’s specifications.”
The go-kart was a gift for Adrian's 5th birthday.
“I had driven it multiple times, he had driven it multiple times, it was the first time we took it out for the season, and I had spent an hour and a half going over all the nuts and bolts making sure everything was tight, nothing was loose,” Stolfi said.
The couple, still reeling from the loss, are now uncertain about what’s to come from the charges and how it will impact their already devastated family.
“We’re just trying to grieve him and get through the day -- get through the hour,” Warzecha said. “Never mind having to worry about now the rest of the three children’s father being ripped from them, my partner being ripped from me.”
Stolfi plans to plead not guilty and is due back in court next month.
