Driver Sentenced For Fatal Bicyclist Crash In Wallingford

WALLINGFORD, CT — A Meriden man has been sentenced to four years in prison in connection with a fatal bicyclist crash that killed a Milford man last May in Wallingford, according to the Meriden Record-Journal.

The Record-Journal reports Derek Fries, 36, was sentenced to eight years in prison, suspended after four years served, followed by three years’ probation as part of a plea deal that was reached in January.

Donald A. Carrelli, 37, of Milford, was riding his bicycle around 3 p.m. on May 25, 2019 when he was struck by a vehicle driven by Fries. The crash occurred on South Turnpike Road about 175 feet north of its intersection with Toelles Road, immediately north of the North Haven town line, police said.

Fries was driving in the southbound lane on South Turnpike Road when the vehicle crossed over the double-yellow center line into the northbound lane and struck Carrelli, who was sent down an embankment, police said at the time. Several witnesses provided first aid to Carrelli, who was pronounced dead at Yale-New Haven Hospital a short time later, according to police.

Fries allegedly told police at the scene that he had used heroin before the crash and officers seized two bottles of methadone, six capped syringes, two uncapped syringes and items containing a powdery residue, the Meriden Record-Journal previously reported.

Read more about this week’s sentencing at the Meriden Record-Journal here.