Man Gets Prison Term For 2016 Highway Crash That Killed Milford Woman

HARTFORD, CT — A man convicted on vehicular manslaughter and assault charges in connection with a 2016 fatal crash that killed a Milford woman on Interstate 91 in Enfield will spend six and a half years in prison, according to judicial records.

Brett Verona of Windsor Locks was sentenced Tuesday in Hartford Superior Court to a 15-year prison term, suspended after 78 months, then five years of probation. He was convicted of first-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle and first-degree assault with a motor vehicle, both Class B felonies.

The fatal collision occurred just after midnight on June 13, 2016 on the southbound side of the highway. An extensive police investigation determined a Ford Freestyle operated by Verona was changing lanes when it struck the rear fender and tire area of a motorcycle, knocking it off the highway just before exit 48, police said.

Caroline McCallister, 47, a passenger on the motorcycle, was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, while the operator, Randal Ruelle, 47 at the time and also of Milford, suffered serious injuries and was taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, police said.

Verona, who was 27 at the time of the crash, was not injured in the collision. He was originally charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He had been free since posting $50,000 bond.