NEW LONDON - According to the arrest warrant affidavit, a 25-year-old driver changed his story in response to the hit-and-run accident that killed a Connecticut College student on Dec. 18.
Thursday morning, James Sposito, 25, of Quaker Hill, pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and and misconduct with a motor vehicle. The charges are connected to the death of 20-year-old Anique Ashraf, a junior at Connecticut College.
At approximately 2 a.m. on Dec. 18, Ashraf, who had been drinking at an on-campus party, was struck and killed either in or near a crosswalk along Route 32 northbound, near the school's main entrance.
Sposito left the scene of the accident after having bar hopped with friends all evening in New London.
According to the arrest warrant, Sposito told the police and some of the friends that he had been out drinking at several New London bars and that he thought he hit a deer.
That story contradicts what he told another friend, according to the warrant. A female friend told police she received a frantic call from Sposito shortly after the accident. When she got to his house, he told her "I think I hit a person."
After examining his damaged car for herself, she thought he clearly hit a deer. That is until he told her that he had found a backpack strap on his windshield.
According to the warrant, hours later the female friend, who had slept at Sposito's home, woke up to him telling her she couldn't leave because there were about 10 to 12 investigators and cops outside of his house.
Later, when it was determined that she was going to tell police her side of the story, he urged her not to tell police that he had been drinking just before the time of the accident.
It was that move that earned Sposito a tampering with a witness charge as well. Sposito is due in court again next month and remains free on $150,000 bond.
