Connecticut State Police
Turner
ANSONIA – An Ansonia man was charged with manslaughter in connection to a car crash last year that killed a man in Woodbury.
Isiah Turner, 25, turned himself in to Connecticut State Police on Monday (June 24) after the arrest warrant was issued, according to a CSP press release.
The crash, which occurred on July 29, 2024, killed the driver of the other vehicle and required two other passengers in that vehicle to be hospitalized for their injuries.
The victim’s name was redacted in the warrant by state police though it is public information under state law.
Various news outlets identified the victim as Rober Gardner, 56, a father, husband, and a 25-year emergency medical responder in Southbury. Click here to read the GoFundMe created for his family.
The GoFundMe also states that one of the passengers in the vehicle, Gardner’s fiancée, was disabled as a result of her injuries, and that she was not certain she would be able to return to work as a nursing assistant.
A urine test for Turner later came back positive for cocaine, oxycodone, opiates, cannabinoids, and a small amount of alcohol, according to an arrest warrant.
The warrant placed the accident on the two-lane Main Street South (Route 6) in Woodbury, near Constantine’s Restaurant. While driving in a line of traffic around 10 a.m. Turner allegedly swerved into the left lane, where his Dodge Dakota collided head-on with a gray Subaru Baja containing three people.
Turner, speaking to police after the accident, said that his brakes were malfunctioning, pulling his vehicle to the left.
However, a detective on the scene tested the truck’s brakes and found that they were working properly. Multiple witness statements also conflicted with Turner’s account.
One passenger in the Subaru said that she saw the truck “switching back and forth, like it was trying to decide to pass the cars in front of him.” A driver who was a few cars ahead of Turner corroborated the passenger’s account, saying that she saw Turner’s truck pulling out three or four times, and that she believed he was trying to pass.
Turner was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, according to statements he provided to police. His vehicle was also unregistered.
Turner also sustained injuries which were treated at St. Mary’s Hospital. Officers later acquired permission from Turner to evaluate medical records from his stay, from which they discovered that his urine had tested positive for several drugs.
Turner was charged with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, second-degree assault with a motor vehicle, reckless driving, driving under the influence, failure to wear a seat belt, operating an unregistered vehicle, and failure to drive right of the center line.
He is scheduled to be arraigned in Waterbury court on July 3.
