Hartford man gets prison for deadly ’22 crash

A Hartford man was sentenced to6 ½ years in prison on Thursday for a 2022 crash in Hartford that killed one man and seriously injured another, officials said.

Melvin Castro, 31, was sentenced by Judge David P. Gold to 15 years in prison, execution suspended after 6 ½ years served, followed by three years of probation, according to a release from the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice.

Castro pleaded guilty in Hartford Superior Court on Oct. 26, 2023 to charges of second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle and second-degree assault with a motor vehicle.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit in the case, officers with the Hartford Police Department responded to a serious motor vehicle crash on July 11, 2022, at about 12:57 a.m. at the intersection of New Britain Avenue and Fairfield Avenue. Officers found two vehicles with heavy damage, including a 2017 Ford Focus and a 2007 Nissan Altima.

An investigation revealed that the Nissan, driven by Castro, failed to stop at a red light and ran through the intersection at a high rate of speed estimated to be 81 mph in a 30-mph zone, the DCJ said. Castro’s vehicle then struck the Ford driven by 33-year-old Jamal Randolph McCall of Hartford.

According to the affidavit, the front end of the Altima was engulfed in flames. Good Samaritans pulled Castro from the driver’s seat, the warrant affidavit said. He was taken to Saint Francis Hospital where he was treated for a leg injury not considered life-threatening, according to the affidavit.

Members of the Hartford Fire Department extricated two unresponsive people from the Focus, including McCall and a 33-year-old passenger, the affidavit said. McCall was transported to Hartford Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The passenger also was transported to Hartford Hospital with serious physical injuries, according to court records.

During the sentencing hearing, the surviving victim talked about the senseless and tragic loss of McCall and detailed the permanent injuries he suffered as a result of the crash, the DCJ said.

According to the warrant affidavit, Castro told detectives he could not remember much about the collision and agreed to speak with police again about a week after the crash, when he told investigators he had gone with friends to Lo Sano Restaurant and Bar on Maple Avenue where he had a “few drinks” despite saying he “does not normally consume alcoholic beverages,” according to the affidavit. Castro told police he still did not remember much about the crash but said he believed he was driving somewhere between 40 to 45 mph, according to the warrant affidavit.

The investigation later showed that Castro had a blood alcohol concentration or BAC of .15. The legal limit to drive in Connecticut is 0.08. Castro also reportedly admitted to ingesting marijuana prior to operating the vehicle, court records show.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled McCall’s death an accident and said he died of blunt force trauma to his torso, according to the affidavit. The toxicology report indicated McCall had THC — the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana — in his system, the court records showed.