Arrests Made in Ellington Fatal Crash

ELLINGTON, CT - State police executed a pair of arrest warrants Thursday evening in connection with a fatal crash in Ellington that killed a Thompson woman last fall.

Nathan Coles, 24, formerly of Webster, Mass. but currently residing at 237 Sandy Beach Road in Ellington, is charged with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle while under the influence, operating under the influence of alcohol/drugs, tampering with a witness, second-degree false statement and failure to drive in proper lane.

He was held on $350,000 bond, and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Rockville Superior Court.

Coles was operating a vehicle which went out of control on Route 83 near Mountain Street in Ellington around 12:31 a.m. on Oct. 20, 2015.

A passenger, Kayla Coffin-Houston, 25, of the North Grosvenordale section of Thompson, was thrown from the vehicle, which overturned and rolled on top of her. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Coles was airlifted by LifeStar helicopter to Hartford Hospital with serious injuries, police said.

At 5:53 p.m. Thursday, police executed the arrest warrant on Coles at his current residence. Several hours later, police located Samantha Gruelle, 25, at her Vernon apartment, and charged her on a warrant with second-degree false statement.

Gruelle was released on a $5,000 nonsurety bond, and is scheduled to appear in court March 14.

Photos courtesy of Connecticut State Police