Driver Pleads Down for Fatal Crash That Killed Avon Woman

FARMINGTON, CT — A West Hartford resident involved in an October crash in Farmington that took the life of an Avon woman side-stepped a manslaughter charge when he entered a guilty plea on Monday to a lesser crime.

Still, 27-year-old Bennett Dunbar of West Hartford faces up to five years in prison by pleading guilty to felony misconduct with a motor vehicle, a clerk at Hartford Superior Court said.

The crash took place on Oct. 20 near the Pro-Health Physicians office on Farmington Avenue. Dunbar was initially charged with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle and first-degree reckless endangerment, but worked out a plea arrangement on Monday, records show.

According to police and judicial system records, an investigation determined that Dunbar was speeding when his Volvo station wagon crossed the center line and hit a car drive by 66-year-old Janet Pulver.

Pulver was taken to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center and died from injuries sustained in the crash.

Dunbar is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on on Nov. 13, according to court records. Dunbar faces a maximum of five years in prison.

Photo Credit: Farmington police