HARTFORD, Conn. — A Wolcott woman was arrested Wednesday in connection to a fatal crash that occurred in September 2023 on Interstate 84 in West Hartford, state police said in a release on Thursday.
Michelle Miller, 29, turned herself into Troop H – Hartford, state police said.
Miller was driving a Volkswagen Jetta along Interstate 84 westbound just after 8 p.m. on Sept. 6, 2023, when she lost control just before the exit 44 ramp. Her vehicle left the westbound lanes of the highway, crossed the grassy median and entered the eastbound lanes of I-84.
Miller’s Jetta crashed into a Subaru Impreza Sport carrying 26-year-old Natalia Dudzinkski, of Bristol, and two-year-old Malakhi Scott, of New Britain, according to officials. Both the Jetta and the Impreza Sport crossed from the left lane into the center lane, striking a truck, state police said.
State police said both Dudzinski and Scott were pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver did not report any injuries, and Miller was taken to Hartford Hospital with minor injuries.
In the arrest warrant, state police said Miller said she was driving 75 mph at the time of the crash. Miller said a vehicle cut into her lane and she veered off the highway and lost control of the vehicle. Miller was traveling with her dog, which died in the crash.
Miller, who complained of a broken leg after the crash, told state police she smoked three or four hits of marijuana from a bowl earlier in the day and that she had one alcoholic beverage before taking the wheel. A state police detective who is a qualified drug recognition expert performed a Drug Influence Examination on Miller, state police said.
Miller is charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs, two counts of misconduct with a motor vehicle, first-degree reckless endangerment, cruelty to animals, injury or risk of injury to a minor, reckless driving, speeding, driving wrong way on divided highways and failure to maintain proper lane, according to state police.
State police said Miller was held on $750,000 bond and was scheduled for arraignment at Hartford Superior Court on Thursday.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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