Griswold man to be sentenced for causing crash that killed daughter

A Griswold father who was behind the wheel during a crash that killed his 4-year-old daughter in October 2016 pleaded no contest Thursday in New London Superior Court to risk of injury to a minor and second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle.

David J. Ali, 30, will be sentenced Sept. 27 to six years in prison followed by five years of probation.

According to Groton Town Police, Ali was driving his 2001 Toyota Camry west on Gold Star Highway toward the intersection of Packer and Welles roads about 5:15 p.m. Oct. 31. Kendall Metcalf, 20, of North Stonington was driving her 2001 BMW east on Gold Star Highway toward the same intersection. Police said their investigation revealed that Ali then attempted to turn left onto Packer Road despite the oncoming BMW. The BMW struck the Camry and continued eastbound before rolling over.

Police said crews took Ali and his front seat passenger, Cheryl Mackin, to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. The Camry’s third occupant, 4-year-old Delilah Ali, was taken by Life Star helicopter from L+M to Yale New Haven Hospital, where she died the next afternoon. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death was blunt injury to the head, with the manner of death accidental, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Blood test results indicated that Ali’s blood alcohol content was 0.21 percent. The legal limit for driving is 0.08 percent.

Ali has been incarcerated at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Institution since June 2017, according to the Department of Correction website.