Boyfriend Faces Manslaughter, DUI Charges for Crash that Killed Cheshire Teen

Editor’s Note: In case you missed it from earlier this week. This story was originally posted Aug. 24.

By BARBARA HEINS (Patch Staff)

A Berlin man is facing manslaughter and driving under the influence charges in connection with the December car crash that killed his 19-year-old girlfriend.

Connecticut State Police obtained an arrest warrant for Anthony W. Longo, 23, of 23 Iris Way, Berlin, who was charged on Friday with operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs, second-degree manslaughter under the influence, second-degree assault with a motor vehicle and failure to drive in established lane.

Longo is accused of driving with a blood alcohol level of .154 and with “cannibinoids in his system the night of Dec. 13, 2014,” according to a police report.

Police said it was about 2:17 a.m. was southbound on Route 9 near the Exit 21 off ramp when he lost control of his vehicle, spun around, striking a reflective post, a light pole and a rock ledge before becoming airborne. Upon landing, the vehicle rolled over “an undetermined number of times ejecting the passenger,” Isabella S. Gozzo of Cheshire.

Gozzo was a 2014 graduate of Cheshire High School. Hundreds of friends and classmates attended a vigil at the high school in the days following the crash.

Longo was released after posting $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear Sept. 17 in state Superior Court in New Britain, according to state police.

File photo