Stamford Woman Charged With Vehicular Manslaughter After I-95 Hit and Run Accident Leaves 2 Dead

Daily Stamford- A 39-year-old Stamford woman is facing vehicular manslaughter charges in the deaths of two men struck and killed Saturday as they changed a tire on I-95 in Darien.

Candice Blanks was also charged with driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident. Lucas Silva, 22, of Stamford and Felipe Chagas, 19, of Bethel were standing on the shoulder near Exit 11 southbound at around 2:30 a.m. when they were struck by Blanks' vehicle.

Blanks then hit another car parked on the right shoulder of the highway, according to police reports. She fled the scene, even after her airbags deployed, but was apprehended shortly thereafter by Darien police.

Chagas and Silva were pronounced dead at the scene. Blanks was being held on a $250,000 bond.

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DARIEN — Two young men were killed as they changed a tire on a disabled car along I-95 southbound near Exit 11.

The man were killed about 2:30 Saturday morning, and the woman who hit them was charged with drunken driving.

Felipe Chagas, 19, of Bethel and Lucas Silva, 22, of Stamford, were standing on the shoulder of the highway and changing the left rear tire of a Chevrolet Cavalier when the crash happened. A short distance ahead, several friends in a Volkswagen Passat had pulled off the highway to help.

Candice Blanks' was driving past when her Lincoln Aviator apparently veered into the shoulder and hit the two men, police said. The impact hurled Chagas against the Passat, and Blanks' SUV dragged Silva about 170 feet, state troopers said.

Blanks kept driving even though her car's airbag deployed, but she was caught a little farther south on the highway, according to police. Blanks, 29, of Stamford, was charged with drunken driving, two counts of vehicular manslaughter, evading responsibility and failing to stay in her lane. She was held in lieu of a $250,000 bond pending arraignment Monday.

Police called ambulances for a passenger in the Passat who suffered a minor injury and a 19-year-old passenger in the Cavalier who fainted. Troopers ask that any witnesses contact Troop G at 203-696-2500.

Hit-and-Run Death of Gabrielle Lee - New Haven - June 5, 2008

Governor M. Jodi Rell authorized a $10,000 reward for information leading to the motorist responsible for the death of 11-year-old Gabrielle Lee, who was fatally struck by a motor vehicle in New Haven on June 5, 2008.

The child, a student at the Elm City College Prep charter school, is believed to have been struck by a Volkswagen Jetta.

Anyone with information about the accident should contact the New Haven Police Department.

Homicide of Leah Ulbrich - October 1995 - Hartford/Wethersfield

On Sunday, October 29, 1995, at approximately 4:49 a.m., Hartford Police received 911 calls about a woman being dragged by a motor vehicle from Locust Street west on Elliott Street toward Wethersfield Avenue in Hartford.

The caller described the car as similar to a 1995 or recent year Nissan Maxima or similar make. Another caller, using a fire emergency telephone at the corner of Elliott Street and Wethersfield Avenue, observed the female being dragged by the car south on Wethersfield Avenue toward the Town of Wethersfield. The female caller was never identified.

Just prior to the 911 calls, a Hartford Police Officer patrolling north on Wethersfield Avenue near Elliott Street in a marked cruiser observed a small dark color car enter Wethersfield Avenue from Elliot Street and travel south with no headlights on. The officer observed something unidentifiable being dragged from the passenger side of the vehicle. The officer pursued the car without success. The officer followed a discernable trail of liquid left on the pavement to the area of Jordan Lane near Ridge Road in Wethersfield.

The officer located the victim, with extensive injuries, lying against the northern curb of Jordan Lane. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by responding Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). An autopsy performed at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Farmington determined the cause of death as extensive blunt trauma and certified the manner of death as a homicide. The victim was identified as Leah Ulbrich, age 24, of Hartford and New Britain.

Since October 29, 1995, the Hartford Police Department and the Wethersfield Police Department have conducted an intensive investigation into the murder of Leah Ulbrich. Numerous extensive interviews have been conducted and forensic evidence analyzed.

In November 2001, a joint investigation was initiated between the Hartford Police Department, the Wethersfield Police Department and the Cold Case Unit of the Office of the Chief State's Attorney.

At the request of James E. Thomas, then the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford, the Governor authorized a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the death of Leah Ulbrich. The Division of Criminal Justice maintains a Tip Line to take information on this case. The number is 860-548-0606.

Police: Fayette Mom Of 6 Run Over By Husband

MENALLEN TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Police in Fayette County said a mother of six who was fatally struck by a car was run over by her husband.

A makeshift memorial with flowers along Route 40 marks the spot where Carmen Higinbotham was struck and killed.

Higinbotham, 30, of Brownsville, was pronounced dead at the scene near Searights Crossroads in Menallen Township at about 1 a.m. Sunday, according to the county coroner's office.

WTAE Channel 4's Jennifer Miele has confirmed that state police are charging Higinbotham's husband, Ronald, with criminal homicide.

Police and District Attorney Nancy Vernon discussed the case at the state police barracks in Uniontown on Wednesday.

Describing the death as "violent," the Fayette County coroner said that Carmen Higinbotham was struck by the car and then run over.

Investigators believe there was a history of domestic violence between the couple and that Carmen Higinbotham may have been considering leaving her husband.

Police are also looking for two possible witnesses -- two women who saw the body by the side of the road and flagged down a security guard at a nearby bar for help.

Police had considered the case to be a hit-and-run until they got a phone call from Ronald Higinbotham telling them that he believed he had killed his wife, Miele reported.

She had recently reunited with her out-of-state birth parents, Miele reported.

Higinbotham had two children with her husband, two stepchildren and two adopted children.