Salem Musician One of 2 Dead in Waterford Crash

Two people, including the young drummer of a local band, died Sunday in a two-car accident in Waterford near the Montville line, and a Norwich man was arrested on drunken driving charges in connection with the crash, police said.

Joshua A. Lecce, 23, of 521 Colchester Road, Salem, drummer in the band Gone for Good, and Danielle M. Nicholson, 21, of 16 Soldier Drive, Waterford, a passenger in his car, died in the accident early Sunday.

Two other passengers in the car, Brian Hahnel, 22, of 24 Broadview Ave., Uncasville, and Amadeus Harris, 22, of 37 Richards Grove Road, Quaker Hill, were injured in the crash and treated at The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich.

Joseph Donohue, 27, of 14 Orchard St., Norwich, the driver of a 2001 Dodge Dakota pickup, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

He was treated for injuries at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, and remained in police custody Sunday on $500,000 cash bond, pending an arraignment in New London Superior Court, police said.

Police said the accident happened at about 1:40 a.m. at the intersection of Route 32 and Old Norwich Road near the Montville-Waterford line, and involved the Dodge and a 2005 Scion driven by Lecce.

Lecce played in the rock band Gone for Good, which released a demo, or short collection of songs, called “The Drawing Board” in October.

“He was extremely musically talented, humorous, funny and well-loved by many of us,” said Lecce’s sister, Stacy Haynes. “He was a wonderful person. Kind-hearted and extremely musically talented. Always made you laugh. Always had a good comeback.”

Lecce worked at the Guitar Center in New London, taught private lessons in drums and guitar, and was self-taught. Gone for Good recorded in New London with Andy Stackpole and planned a tour across the Northeast in early winter. The group played in February at The Oasis Pub in New London and The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, Mass.

The band plans to release a CD in Lecce’s memory.

The CD, tentatively called “The Bright Lights” is being mastered in New York and was expected to be released in a month.

“Obviously, with these circumstances, I think we’re going to get together and discuss how we want to present it,” said Sean Murray, manager of the band. “We’re going to present it in his honor now.”

“The band themselves, the guys are reeling pretty hard from it.”

Earlier this week, Murray said he played the first fully mastered song for Lecce. “It sounded really great, and he was thrilled about it,” Murray said. “It’s sort of extra tragic that this CD that he was so excited about he didn’t get to hear.”

Murray said Lecce was the social outlet for band members; they broke into the New London music scene about a year ago, and Lecce made a point of shaking everyone’s hand and trying to get to know as many people from other bands and the audience as possible, Murray said.

“As tragic as it is, it’s really great to see so many people in the music (scene) here mourning, truly mourning his loss,” Murray said. “That just means that he had a greater impact on a lot of people than we knew. A lot of people are really upset about it.”

Murray said Lecce was at Oasis Saturday night to hear some local bands play and was driving some friends home when the accident happened.

A press release by the Waterford Police Department provided no further details about the accident, but said it was under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Waterford police at (860) 442-9451.