Seymour police say a local man whose passenger died after a crash on South Main Street last month was driving drunk when he slammed into a utility pole.
Manuel “Manny” Esteves, 20, surrendered to officers at the Seymour Police Department about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, according to a press release Friday from Lt. Paul Satkowski.
Police had obtained a warrant for his arrest.
Esteves was charged with second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless driving, and driving while intoxicated. He posted a $50,000 bond and will appear at Superior Court in Derby Dec. 13, according to police.
Police said Esteves was behind the wheel about 1 a.m. Oct. 31 when the car he was driving crashed into a pole head-on on South Main Street.
The crash killed Korey Jordan, a 19-year-old Naugatuck resident.
Esteves and Jordan were friends.
Esteves and two others were injured as well. Police said Esteves was driving north on South Main Street and passed another car “at a high rate of speed” in the area of Balkos Service Station before failing to negotiate the curve in the road near its intersection with Pearl Street.
“Speed and alcohol were determined to be the contributing factors with this accident,” Satkowski said in the press release. “Investigating officers smelled an odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from Esteves while at the accident scene.”
Using that as probable cause, police sought and obtained a search warrant for Esteves’ medical records, Satkowski said Friday.
“Through investigation officers determined Esteves had a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of nearly eight times the legal limit of what is allowed by Connecticut law for someone under the age of 21 and nearly two times the legal limit of an adult over 21,” the press release said.
Satkowski said police know more about what the men were up to before the accident, but are not releasing the information now.
“We have an idea what happened, but I’m not going to get into specifics of that before it goes to court,” he said. “It’s still an open investigation. There’s still follow-up information we have to do, and tie up a lot of loose ends.”
In the weeks since the crash, Esteves received threats for his alleged role in the fatality, according to information posted on Facebook and Twitter.
Esteves, who was hospitalized immediately after the crash, used his Twitter account earlier this month to answer people who threatened him. He has a large family who will back him up if need be, Esteves indicated in a Tweet. His account, which was public before and immediately after the Oct. 31 crash, has since been deleted.
Earlier this month, Francine Ciliberti posted to the Valley Indy’s Facebook page, saying she is Esteves’ grandmother.
She said people should “not make threats when you do not know all of the facts.”
“My grandson, Manny, is being blamed as the driver, but you should wait until you know all of the facts,” Ciliberti posted. “You’ll be surprised when you finally hear the truth.”
Ciliberti then reminded readers Esteves and Jordan were friends.
“Manny feels bad enough about Korey without people who are supposed to be his friends accusing him and threatening him. God gave you two ears and one mouth so that you can listen before you speak. My Grandson has enough problems right now without being threatened. Remember he has been injured as well as losing a friend.”
The Valley Indy sent Ciliberti two messages immediately after her post and attempted to call her. The efforts to reach her were not successful.
Satkowski said Patrol Sergeant David Parratt and Officer Michael Santanelli, both of whom are accident reconstruction specialists, investigated the case.
“Both officers are to be commended for being able to secure an arrest warrant in a relatively short period of time with an accident of this magnitude,” Satkowski said. “They have both worked tirelessly with the hope to bring a quick resolution (with the arrest of Manuel Esteves) so the victim’s (Korey Jordan) family can begin the healing process knowing justice will be served for this senseless tragedy which was preventable.”
