Warrant: Man Charged With Manslaughter For Flipping Car Into Icy Willington Pond in January

WILLINGTON, CT — A Stamford man whose passenger died after he mysteriously drove a performance car into an icy pond on a dark snowy road in January has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and driving after after taking drugs, state police said.

Joseph Young, 40, of Stamford, was arrested on Wednesday on a warrant for the Jan. 23 incident, state police said. He was held on a $250,000 bond and appeared in Rockville Superior Court the following day. His case was transferred to the Part A docket — the slots reserved for the most serious cases —and his bond was reduced to $200,000, a clerk at the court said.

As of Friday morning, he had not posted the bond, a clerk said. He is due back before a judge on Sept. 30, a clerk said.

The Jan. 23 crash took place at 7:35 p.m. on Daleville Road near Hockla Farms Road after inclement weather had rolled into the area.

State police and emergency crews found a 2008 Audi A3 on its roof in an icy pond, according to an arrest warrant. The car had apparently careened off the snow-covered, slippery road, hit "a wooden post," flipped and landed upside down in the pond, according to an arrest warrant. Young was heading northbound and lost control on a curve, according to an arrest warrant.

Young was able to crawl out of a rear window of the submerged car and was taken to Rockville General Hospital with "non-life-threatening" injuries, according to an arrest warrant.

The passenger, Thomas Middleton, was not so lucky. He was pulled from the car but did not survive, according to an arrest warrant. The chief medical examiner's office determined he drowned, according to an arrest warrant.

Young told police he is a habitual heroin user and had taken "a bundle," or "10 bags" that day, according to an arrest report. Drugs were found in a blood sample taken from him at Rockville Hospital, according to an arrest warrant.

His driver's license had been suspended the previous July, according to an arrest warrant.

The accident investigation determined that Middleton died as a result of "the negligent operation of (the) vehicle by Young under the influence of drugs."

In addition to the second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle and driving under the influence charges, Young was cited for driving under suspension, traveling at an unreasonable speed, and a lane violation, according to an arrest warrant.

Photo Credit: The booking mug shot of Young furnished by state police.