Easton man charged with manslaughter in fatal hit and run in Fairfield
BRIDGEPORT — Charges were upgraded Thursday against an Easton volunteer firefighter accused of driving drunk and killing a woman last July 4 as she walked her dog in Fairfield.
Declan Kot, 22, is now charged with second-degree manslaughter in addition to earlier charges of evading responsibility in a death and tampering with evidence.
The new charge is a felony with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Tiffany Lockshier filed notice in Superior Court of the addition of the manslaughter charge. She declined comment.
Kot’s lawyer, John R. Gulash, also declined comment on the new charge.
The case is scheduled for a virtual pretrial conference on March 23.
Marileidy Morel-Araujo, 32, of Pennsylvania, had been visiting her husband’s family on Redding Road in Fairfield, when police said Morel-Araujo decided to take a walk with her dog Coal.
Police said Morel-Araujo was struck from behind as she walked with her dog along Redding Road by a white pickup truck with a large American flag waving on the back. The truck did not stop after the collision, police said.
On July 7, Fairfield Police Officer Virgil Procaccini was on routine patrol when he spotted a pickup matching the description and pulled it over. The driver, Kot, agreed to go to police headquarters.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Kot admitted he had been driving his pickup after consuming six alcoholic drinks.
“He drove off the road near some bushes/trees and heard a loud bang on the side of his vehicle which startled him; he thought he hit a tree branch at the time,” police stated in the affidavit, noting the area of the collision does not have any shrubbery or trees.
The affidavit states that Kot said when he got home, he noticed missing pieces on his passenger side mirror and replaced the mirror.
During this interview, Kot began to cry. Then, police said, Kot admitted seeing the victim on the side of the road.