Plea offer rejected in Old Lyme pedestrian fatality

An Old Lyme man charged in connection with a hit-andrun accident that claimed the life of 19-year-old pedestrian Yeison “Jayson” Gomez Cruz in October 2017 has rejected an offer from a state prosecutor to resolve his case short of a trial.

The plea offer that prosecutor Rafael Bustamante made to Daniel J. Coffee, 37, involved a prison term, according to attorney Ronald F. Stevens, who is representing Coffee along with attorney Russell S. Palmer. Coffee rejected the offer during an appearance Tuesday at the Geographical Area 10 court in New London.

As the next step in the case, the attorneys will have a judicial pretrial meeting during Coffee’s next court appearance, April 15, to discuss it with Judge Hunchu Kwak, according to Stevens.

Coffee is charged with misconduct with a motor vehicle, evading responsibility in a motor vehicle accident that results in death and possession of a less than a half-ounce of marijuana. He could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison if convicted at trial.

Stevens said it’s a tragic case. “From our perspective, the police report indicates that the reasons for the accident have nothing do with my client,” he said by phone Tuesday. “It appears the victim was walking on the roadway on the wrong side of the road wearing dark clothing.”

Gomez Cruz’s family has filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit against Coffee.

According to state police, Gomez Cruz, who was walking home from his job at a nearby restaurant, was found severely injured on the roadside of

Boston Post Road-Route 1 in Old Lyme near the intersection of Sill Lane. At 1:49 a.m. that day, a town worker operating a backhoe clearing tree debris from a heavy rainstorm spotted the unconscious Gomez Cruz.

Gomez Cruz died Nov. 11, 2017, at Yale New Haven Hospital.

Coffee, located later at his home, said he had struck a deer. He smelled of alcohol but declined a blood test, “saying he had drank a few beers upon returning home and prior to going to bed,” police said.