Officials Give Update On Fatal West Main Street Crash Investigation

STAMFORD, CT — The investigation into the crash on West Main Street that killed a 74-year-old woman two days before Thanksgiving is expected to be lengthy, according to the latest update from Sgt. Jeffrey Booth of the Stamford Police Department's Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad (CARS).

Booth gave a brief update on the "active investigation" last week as part of the Stamford Vision Zero Task Force monthly meeting.

"We do have a suspect, we have the suspect vehicle. But at this point, we're in a holding pattern until we get the results back from the state lab on the testing we're doing with the vehicle, and get the paperwork right," Booth said. "With the holidays, I don't think we're going to hear back from the state until closer to the end of January at this point. Once we get all of our results from the state back, we'll respond with the rest of the investigation."

Police said Marie Jean-Charles, a ShopRite employee, was walking south across West Main Street near the junction with Alvord lane at approximately 6:13 a.m., on Nov. 21 when she was hit in the eastbound travel lanes by a red sedan that was believed to be traveling at a high rate of speed. The make and model of the car was not immediately known.

Jean-Charles was pronounced dead at the scene, and the car continued to drive eastbound on West Main Street, police said.

The collision closed West Main Street between West Avenue and Myano Lane for several hours.

"This was a devastating crash, which caused heavy damage to the vehicle’s windshield and possibly deployed the airbag, along with causing horrendous injuries to the pedestrian," Booth said at the time. "There is no way that the operator of the vehicle did not know that he or she had been involved in this vicious collision."

In the early afternoon hours on Nov. 21, investigators were given information from other police sources regarding a possible suspect car, police said.

Investigators responded to the suspect address, found the suspect car and seized it, according to police.

Also during last week's Vision Zero Task Force meeting, Stamford Director of Public Safety, Health and Welfare Lou DeRubeis mentioned the recent court appearance by Michael Talbot, the Greenwich man accused of killing two Stamford residents in a hit-and-run in December 2022.

Charges weren't filed against Talbot until over a month after the crash, which caused some frustration within the community. Investigators and Mayor Caroline Simmons urged patience.

Talbot finally pleaded guilty in Stamford Superior Court earlier this month to two counts of manslaughter, one count of evading causing death, one count of operating under the influence, and one count of reckless driving. He's scheduled to be sentenced on March 20, 2024.

"I think that shows the importance that we slow these investigations down, give the investigators the time needed to make sure that we do have these ironclad cases with all of the scientific data and technical assistance from other divisions and units and departments, so that when we do move over to the criminal proceeding, that we end up with a result like we did in this particular case," DeRubeis said.

"These types of investigations are very lengthy, and they're lengthy for a reason, so when we do get to that phase where we do move forward with criminal charges, we have a very strong case and ultimately our goal is justice for the victim and families," he added.

Simmons appeared at last week's Vision Zero Task Force meeting and offered condolences on the loss of Jean-Charles.

"I wanted to reemphasize how critical the work that this task force is doing to address pedestrian safety in Stamford because it is unacceptable the amount of pedestrian fatalities that we've seen in our city," she said. "We have to continue to work better so we can keep our residents safe."

Simmons said officials are looking at the next steps to improve the intersection where the crash took place.