HARTFORD, Conn. — On Thursday the friends, family and co-workers of Tommy Nguyen showed up at Hartford Superior Court to support him.
Nguyen, 25, is the man charged with hitting and killing a construction worker with his car. Nguyen’s supporters say it was all a tragic accident that was caused by an unexpected medical episode.
However, inside court the state’s attorney said, “This was an extremely reckless operation of a motor vehicle.”
Nguyen is accused of hitting and killing 54-year-old Jose Diaz-Nieves of East Hartford with his car Wednesday as Diaz-Nieves was working roadside construction on West Boulevard in Hartford.
“I feel sorry for the family,” said Nguyen’s friend, Selena Romero. “My condolences I send out to all you guys in the family. I’m very, very sorry. But we are also hurting,” she added.
Inside the courtroom, we learned Nguyen, who’s been working at Dunkin Donuts for the last several years, does have some history with the law.
“He has a 2022 conviction for engaging in a police pursuit,” read the bail commissioner aloud. That incident took place in Enfield.
Nguyen was allegedly driving an unregistered and unlicensed vehicle when he hit Diaz-Nieves. Details of that were downplayed by his attorney.
“People drive around with unlicensed unregistered cars all the time,” said Atty. Michael Chambers Jr. “There’s probably five cars on the street here right now that are unlicensed and unregistered. That wasn’t what caused this accident."
Nguyen’s family claims the tragedy was an accident and that Nguyen has a history of seizures. He was allegedly called by his grandmother to take her to the grocery store. His grandmother and a five-year-old child were in the car when the crash occurred.
“She saw her grandson's head simply start shaking in the car and what we believe is that he had a seizure,” explained Chambers.
RELATED: Rhode Island man arrested for DUI after driving through construction zone on I-84 in Southington
“It wasn’t his intention to hurt anybody,” added Romero. “We're going to support him and be here for him every step of the way.”
Despite a plea from his attorney to set a reasonable bond, the judge approved the recommendation of the bail commissioner.
“I am going to set the bond at $1 million,” the judge remarked.
Not only is Nguyen charged with second-degree manslaughter, he is also charged with reckless driving, risk of injury to a minor and failure to use a child safety seat. He’ll be back in court July 8.
----
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
----
Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com.
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.