Thread: Motorcyclist Killed, Driver Charged

http://www.courant.com

Motorcyclist Killed, Driver Charged


By MONICA POLANCO
The Hartford Courant

April 20 2006, 12:52 PM EDT

SUFFIELD -- A Hartford man has been charged in the death of a Canton man who was killed during a collision just before 7 a.m. today.

Gary Thureson, 47, was driving a motorcycle west on Mountain Road near Hill Street when he was struck by a car driven by Luis Perez-Lopez, according to police.

Perez-Lopez, 23, was traveling east on Mountain Road, when he made a left turn onto Hill Street in front of Thureson, striking Thureson's motorcycle and trapping him under the car.

A Suffield police officer and several bystanders pulled the vehicle off Thureson, who was then flown by Life Star to Hartford Hospital. He died at the hospital.

Police arrested Perez-Lopez and have charged him with negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, failure to maintain minimum liablity insurance, failure to grant right of way when making a left turn, operating a motor vehicle without a license and having a device obstructing the windshield.

He is expected to be arraigned in Superior Court in Enfield later today.

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-su ... ines-local

Driver In Fatal Crash Arraigned And Held

Victim, 47, Was Correction Officer

By MONICA POLANCO
Courant Staff Writer

April 21 2006

ENFIELD -- A Hartford man involved in a fatal collision with a motorcyclist who worked as a correction officer was arraigned in Superior Court in Enfield Thursday and held as an undocumented worker.

Luis Perez-Lopez, a 23-year-old illegal immigrant from Guatemala, has been charged with negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, two counts of making an improper turn or stop, driving with articles obstructing his view, operating or towing an unregistered motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle without a license and failure to insure a private motor vehicle.

Perez-Lopez was arrested Thursday after he collided with a motorcyclist in Suffield just before 7 a.m.

Gary Thureson, a 47-year-old correction officer, was riding his motorcycle west on Mountain Road near Hill Street when he was struck by the car Perez-Lopez was driving, police said.

Perez-Lopez was driving east on Mountain Road and made a left turn in front of Thureson, striking his motorcycle and trapping him under the car. A Suffield police officer and several good Samaritans lifted the car off Thureson.

He was flown to Hartford Hospital, where he died.

In court, Judge Howard Scheinblum set Perez-Lopez's cash surety bond at $50,000, denying a request by Perez-Lopez's public defender for a 10 percent cash alternative. Scheinblum ordered that Perez-Lopez not be held at the McDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, where Thureson worked.

"Given the fact that he's an illegal alien, given the fact that he was driving a car that had no insurance ...that he has no valid Connecticut license, that there's a death - these are the facts that concern me," he said.

"There is an immigration detainer, so bond is essentially academic," Bail Commissioner Paul Maselek told Scheinblum.

A man who attended Perez-Lopez's arraignment, along with Perez-Lopez's brother and girlfriend, declined to comment.

Thureson celebrated his 16th anniversary with the state Department of Correction the day he died, said Stacy Smith, a spokeswoman for the department. He was assigned to the McDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield and had formerly worked at Hartford Correctional Center.

A man who identified himself as a colleague of Thureson's but asked to remain anonymous said that Thureson worked the third shift, from 10:45 p.m. to 7 a.m.

He said Thureson would have been headed home to Otis, Mass., just before the collision, which occurred about five minutes from McDougall-Walker. He described Thureson as an avid golfer and outdoorsman who was going through a divorce.

Information provided during Perez-Lopez's arraignment provided a brief glimpse into his life. A Spanish-speaking interpreter translated for Perez-Lopez, who appeared unhurt.

He has lived in Hartford for about a year and traveled in and out of the United States between 2000 and 2002, according to Maselek.

Perez-Lopez attended school until he was 12 and has worked steadily during the past three years, according to Douglas Ovian, a public defender who represented him during the arraignment. Ovian cited Perez-Lopez's most recent job as a cleaner for an industrial company.

But Maselek said Perez-Lopez worked for the End of Hunt Stables in Suffield and had no criminal record. A woman at End of Hunt said Perez-Lopez did not work there.

http://www.journalinquirer.com/site/new ... 9433&rfi=6

04/21/2006
Man charged with negligent homicide in Suffield crash that killed correction officer
By:Max Heuer and Luke Foster , Journal Inquirer

SUFFIELD - A Hartford man has been charged with negligent homicide in connection with an accident on Mountain Road early Thursday morning that killed a motorcyclist who was a correction officer from Canton, police said.

The man, Luis Perez-Lopez, 23, was arraigned Thursday afternoon in Enfield Superior Court, where Bail
Commissioner Paul Maselek said Perez-Lopez was an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who had been working in Suffield.

According to Maselek, Citizenship and Immigration Services had ordered Perez-Lopez held as of Thursday, making the $50,000 cash or surety bond set by Judge Howard Scheinblum essentially meaningless.

The crash killed Gary Thorenson, 47, a correction officer, police said. Information on which state facility he worked at was unavailable today.

Thorenson had been traveling west on Mountain Road on a motorcycle while Perez-Lopez was driving east in a Toyota Camry approaching the intersection of Hill Street shortly before 7 a.m.

Perez-Lopez made a left turn onto Hill Street in front of Thorenson, who tried to avoid the collision by laying down his motorcycle but fell off it, police said. Thorenson and his motorcycle were then struck by Perez-Lopez's car, police said.

A police officer and several bystanders lifted the car off the trapped Thorenson, the report states. He was taken by Life Star to Hartford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Perez-Lopez later told police through a translator that the sun was in his eyes when the accident occurred, police said. Given Perez-Lopez's direction of travel and the time of day, it is possible the sun was in his eyes, police said.

Soon after the accident, police said they learned that Perez-Lopez is an illegal alien from Guatemala. Through a translator, Perez-Lopez gave police a statement about the incident.
An accident reconstruction team quickly found there was probable cause that Perez-Lopez was at fault in the crash, police said.

Perez-Lopez was arrested at the scene because police felt that if he were allowed to leave, there was a high risk they wouldn't be able to locate him again since he isn't a legal resident of the United States, police said.

Public Defender Douglas Ovian said Perez-Lopez had worked full-time since coming to the United States from Guatemala three years ago.
Maselek, the bail commissioner, said Perez-Lopez had previously lived in North Carolina.

In addition to negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, Perez-Lopez also faces charges of operating an unregistered motor vehicle, failure to maintain minimum liability insurance, failure to grant right of way when making a left turn, operating a motor vehicle without a license, and having a device obstructing the windshield.

The last charge was filed because there was an air freshener and other objects hanging from the vehicle's rear view mirror, police said.
Perez-Lopez is scheduled to appear again in Superior Court on May 2.

The road was closed around the accident from 7 to 10:30 a.m., police said. Traffic was rerouted down Canborne Way and Remington Street during that time.
Any witnesses to the accident are asked to call Sgt. Shawn Nelson, 668-3870.
Staff writer Jennifer Hoyt contributed to this story.

Darn shame!

At least the judge set a bond at $50,000 to hold this illegal alien so he cannot run from the charges of vehicular homicide. It is truly a shame that many americans lose their lives in this country everyday to illegals driving without licenses and insurance. Not to mention the murders, rapes, etc. caused by these people who are here because our government does not enforce the laws.

I think that illegal foreign nationals have killed more citizens in the past 4 years on our hiways than we have lost soldiers in Iraq. Has there been a database set up for people to list loved ones killed or diabled by illegals on our roads? I though had heard something about one a few months ago.

Yes you can search it on google, I have been there a few times, the stories are heartbreaking. It should come up if you search "murdered by illegal aliens".

Always remember when seeking news stories about illegal aliens committing various crimes that MANY news sources REFUSE to mention that an illegal alien was involved.

I have found multiple news stories about ONE incident where a mere ONE of the on-line newspapers or TV station Web sites mentioned the illegal alien status of the perpetrator or suspect.

Assuredly there are PLENTY of news stories where NONE of the media outlets bother to mention any illegal status.

Since 1996 I have spent countless hours on the Web researching the invasion. Part of the searching was for the crimes committed by illegals. I have seen THOUSANDS of news stories that DID mention an illegal alien was involved.

Who knows the total number of American citizen victims of illegal alien-committed crimes, car crashes, any and all affairs where an illegal has harmed or killed an American citizen.

We are being slaughtered!!!!!!!! Raped!!!! Stolen from!!!! Maimed!!!!!

Yet, the invasion is allowed to continue.

Our country is sick. Our society is sick. Our government is sick. And, too many of our citizens are sick..... to allow the attrocities to continue.