Prosecutor: State near deal in trooper DUI case
MIDDLETOWN — The criminal case against a state trooper charged in a driving under the influence crash that hurt a woman and her daughter in September 2019 is “nearing a resolution,” a prosecutor said.
In a brief hearing Monday before Superior Court Judge Kevin J. Murphy, Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffrey Doskos said the case was “nearing a resolution” but he asked for a continuance at the request of an attorney for the victims in the crash.
John McDonald, a state police sergeant, has not entered a plea to charges of driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs, second-degree assault with a motor vehicle, reckless driving and failure to obey a stop sign.
McDonald has been free on a promise to appear in court, records show. The charges stemmed from a Sept. 25, 2019, crash in Southbury.
Murphy continued the case until May 6 after hearing no argument from McDonald’s attorney, Robert J.T. Britt. Doskos did not say in court what the proposed resolution was in the case.
Attorney Joseph Foti, who represents the victims in the crash, expressed confidence Monday in both the state’s attorney and the judicial system.
“We have the upmost faith in the Connecticut judicial system that the court will do the right thing in this case,” Foti said.
McDonald was accused of running a stop sign at the intersection of Airport Road and Route 188 after leaving a colleague’s retirement party, police said. His arrest warrant indicated McDonald had at least eight drinks at Oxford’s Black Hog Brewery in about three hours.
The warrant indicated the state police sergeant appeared “hammered” later that night after crashing into a woman and her daughter. Witnesses to the crash said McDonald was also swaying back and forth in the middle of the road, the warrant said.
Police said Lisa Conroy, 52, suffered an injury to her eye, and her 19-year-old daughter, Madison, suffered injuries to her arm and wrist.
A lawsuit was filed on behalf of the women that alleges McDonald had been drinking at the Black Hog Brewery shortly before the collision. The Oxford brewery agreed to pay $225,000 for the settlement, said Garrett Moore, the personal injury lawyer representing Conroy and her daughter. The civil suit is still pending against McDonald and the state of Connecticut, Moore said.
According to court records, the Conroys’ attorney filed a motion for default in the case Monday because the state has not entered a response to the claims in the lawsuit.
While they have settled with the brewery, Foti said his clients “are nowhere near settling” in the civil case against McDonald and the state.
“It’s in the very early stages,” Foti said Monday.
McDonald was not given a Breathalyzer test at the scene, because he claimed to be hurt and was taken to a Waterbury hospital, police said. He left the hospital before staff could take blood tests.
McDonald, who serves with the Western District Major Crimes Division out of Troop A in Southbury, was suspended from his state police duties as of Nov. 14, 2019.
There is an ongoing state police internal affairs investigation into the party to see if any other troopers who attended violated department policies. Details of the internal affairs investigation, including video from the brewery, have not been released, nor has McDonald’s personnel file.