Warrant: Windsor Locks Officer Was Drinking For 6 Straight Hours Before Crash

Hartford Courant- The Windsor Locks police officer charged in connection with the crash that killed a teenager was drinking alcohol for six straight hours before the crash and was driving an estimated 73 mph when he hit the teen, a warrant for Michael Koistinen's arrest reveals.

The 21-page warrant used to charge Koistinen with first- and second-degree manslaughter describes a day of drinking beer at a friend's house and at a UConn football tailgate party and consuming shots of liquor at a Suffield bar. Witnesses told state police investigators that Koistinen was drinking from about 5:30 p.m. until about 11:40 p.m., 20 minutes before he struck and killed Henry Dang.

The warrant also raises questions about how the Windsor Locks police handled the accident in its immediate aftermath. The initial investigators never sought to test Koistinen's blood/alcohol level.

In the warrant, state police investigators state that they believe Koistinen's father, Windsor Locks police Sgt. Robert Koistinen, transported his son from the scene to the police station multiple times before returning him to the scene, where an ambulance was called to take the younger Koistinen to a hospital.