NEW HAVEN — Police said a drunk driver was arrested after a cyclist was killed on Sunday afternoon on the 500 block of the Ella T. Grasso Boulevard in New Haven.
When police arrived at around 12:45 p.m., they said they found Ranko Borak, of New Haven, the victim of a hit-and-run accident. Borak had been hit as he pedaled south along the side of the busy roadway, and the impact threw him over an adjacent guardrail, according to police. He was pronounced dead minutes later.
Police said two witnesses told them a light-colored or silver Ford Taurus took off after hitting the man. One of the witnesses was able to take photos of the car, and follow it until he became stuck in traffic near Orange Avenue.
Minutes later, police said they got a call from a driver on Interstate 91 who described a similar car with a damaged windshield. The caller told police they were almost hit as the car headed off the highway at exit 3.
Police said they spotted the car at Orange and Bradley streets. They said the driver, Veronica Pierce, 43, of Southbury, told them she was alone in the car and hadn’t been involved in any crash – but she told them this before a crash was mentioned by police.
A man was in the car with Pierce and said he lives on Bradley Street. He said he stepped into the road to let the driver know she was traveling the wrong way down a one-way street.
Police gave her two standard field sobriety tests and said Pierce was drunk, with a blood alcohol content of 0.2062. In Connecticut, the law states that somebody is legally intoxicated if their BAC is .08 or above.
Pierce was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle while intoxicated, felony evading responsibility, driving under the influence of alcohol, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license and driving the wrong way on a one way street.
Police said they have not been able to locate Borak’s next of kin because none are suspected to live in the United States.
