Stamford Man Sentenced For '19 Fatal Crash That Killed 2 Teens: Report

STAMFORD, CT — A Stamford man was sentenced to prison on Tuesday for a 2019 drunken-driving crash that killed two teenage passengers, the Stamford Advocate reported.

Judge Bruce Hudock sentenced Jerry Diaz, 22, to 20 years in prison, suspended after 10, along with five years of probation, the Advocate reported. Diaz previously pleaded guilty to several charges related to the crash and another incident he was involved in.

Diaz, who was 18 at the time of the fatal crash in August 2019, was driving a 2008 Nissan Altima at a high rate of speed southbound on Canal Street with five other people in the car when he lost control, spun out, and crashed into two utility poles, according to police.

The crash took out several power lines and started a small fire; cleanup from the crash took more than a week, police noted.

Kymani Pollack, 19, was pronounced dead at the scene, and Nishawn Tolliver, 18, was pronounced dead at Stamford Hospital. Three other passengers were all seriously injured, one critically hurt, but all survived their injuries.

Police found that the group, all under the age of 21, was out celebrating the birthday of one of the passengers at a local hotel, where they drank alcohol, police said.

After leaving the hotel, they stopped at a fast food restaurant, and Diaz was confronted about this reckless driving, at which point he said he would stop, police said.

But after leaving the restaurant, Diaz continued to drive dangerously. The car was traveling between 91-96 mph in a 25 mph zone southbound on Canal Street just south of Henry Street when Diaz lost control, police said.

Toxicology results revealed Diaz's blood alcohol content was .137 percent an hour after the crash, and .122 percent four hours after the crash, both six times the legal limit for a person under the age of 21, police said.

Diaz was initially arrested on Nov. 19, 2019. In December 2020, while out on bond, Diaz was arrested and accused of threatening his ex-girlfriend and another person with a firearm, police said. Diaz was then charged with two counts of first-degree threatening; carrying a pistol without a permit; two counts of reckless endangerment, among other charges.

Read more from the Stamford Advocate on Tuesday's sentencing