TORRINGTON, Conn. — Last week, a Litchfield Superior Court jury found a Winsted man guilty of multiple offenses connected to a fatal crash in Winchester, according to the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice.
Alec Cleveland, 29, was 25 at the time of the crash that occurred on Ashley Road, or Route 263, in Winchester on Sept. 28, 2020. He was found guilty on Sept. 12 of second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
DCJ said that Cleveland claimed to have been a passenger in the crash, but investigators found that he was the driver. Cleveland reportedly lost control of the vehicle, as it traveled off the roadway, struck a stone wall and rolled over.
His only passenger, Tyler Brazil, 21, of Norfolk, was originally thought by police to be the driver before the investigation determined otherwise. Evidence presented at trial noted that Brazil was partially ejected and trapped under the 2006 Nissan Sentra.
Testimony from witnesses placed Brazil in the passenger seat prior to the crash, according to DCJ. Records and DNA evidence revealed that Cleveland’s blood alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit at the time of the crash.
Cleveland will be sentenced in Litchfield Superior Court on Nov. 8.
DCJ said the case was investigated by the Winchester Police Department and the Connecticut State Police Collision and Analysis Reconstruction Squad, or C.A.R.S.
State’s Attorney David Shannon thanked the Winchester Police Department, C.A.R.S., and the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection’s Division of Scientific Services for their contributions to the investigation.
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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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