Hartford teen killed in crash was good student with positive attitude

HARTFORD — The 14-yearold high school freshman who died last weekend in a Wethersfield crash was a good student with a positive attitude, a Hartford Public Schools spokesperson said.

Novelle Nesmith was “always smiling,” Julia Skrobak said. School staff relayed that he was “very well-known and well-liked by students and staff alike.” She declined to say which school he attended.

“He participated in classes and put in great effort in his work,” Skrobak said.

Students have been creating a memorial for the teen, she said, and in the process are writing notes, poems and sharing positive thoughts about him.

“Novelle will be terribly missed by our entire school community,” she said.

He was one of three minors in a car that crashed into a tree and then a house on Church Street in Wethersfield at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

A preliminary investigation showed that the car, which police say was stolen, was being driven “erratically” east on Church Street toward Garden Street when it stuck a westbound vehicle. The car then veered off the road, hit a tree and then the corner of a house in the 100 block of the street.

Firefighters had to use power tools to remove two of the minors from the wreck. One, Novelle Nesmith, was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 2:30 p.m. The other minor who had been trapped remains in the hospital, Wethersfield police Capt. Marc Petruzzi said Friday.

A third minor got out with help from neighbors, according to a resident. He left the scene but later returned, police said.

Petruzzi declined to release more information about the crash because of the ongoing investigation by a regional traffic squad, the Mid-State Accident Reconstruction Team.

Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media A house on Church Street in Wethersfield Friday, that was hit by a car last weekend, killing one of the minors who had been in it. The car struck the tree, left, before hitting the house.