Woman, 26, charged in Kent fatal crash

KENT — Police have arrested the driver in a May crash that killed a Lakeville woman.

Shelby Roger, 26, of Salisbury, was charged late last week with driving under the influence when she collided with another car on Skiff Mountain Road in Kent on the evening of May 4, State Police said.

The passenger in Roger’s car, 22-year-old Deanna Lynn Silvernail, was ejected and died.

State police said an investigation revealed Roger’s blood-alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit of .08 and she was driving more than 55 mph in a 30-mph zone.

Roger had been driving south on Skiff Mountain Road when she drifted into the northbound lane and smashed into another car. Her car slid to the top of an embankment, while Silvernail, who had been in the back seat, flew out of the vehicle and down the embankment.

Roger, one of her passengers and the other driver sustained serious injuries and were sent to the hospital.

Silvernail’s father, George Silvernail, said Wednesday he had not heard about the arrest and declined to comment.

Silvernail graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School and loved fishing and bow hunting, according to her obituary.

Her friends and family called her Dede and “Bug,” the latter because of her love for the outdoors and creatures, the obituary said.

She worked at Patterson Oil Company in Lakeville and volunteered on Election Day at the polls.

State troopers arrested Roger on Friday afternoon on an outstanding warrant in Kent during an “unrelated interview,” police said. She was then brought to Troop L in Litchfield.

Roger was charged with second-degree manslaughter, assault, reckless driving and illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

She was released on $200,000 bond and is scheduled to appear Jan. 4 in state Superior Court in Torrington.