Old Lyme man pleads no contest in 2017 hit-and-run fatality

An Old Lyme man charged in connection with a hit-and-run accident that claimed the life of 19-year-old pedestrian Yeison “Jayson” Gomez Cruz on Oct. 29, 2017, pleaded no contest to evading responsibility Tuesday in New London Superior Court.

Daniel J. Coffee, 38, will be sentenced in New London Superior Court on Dec. 14 to up to three years in prison.

Coffee, who had rejected an earlier plea offer and appeared to be headed for trial, accepted an offer from prosecutor Rafael Bustamante that calls for a sentence of 10 years in prison, suspended after three years served, followed by three years of probation. Under the agreement, Coffee’s attorneys, Ronald F. Stevens and Russell S. Palmer, have the right to argue for a shorter prison term at the sentencing before Judge Hunchu Kwak.

Victim Services Advocate Johana Krebs said by phone Tuesday that Gomez Cruz’s family is aware of the plea agreement and is expected to make a statement at the sentencing. The family has filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit against Coffee that is scheduled to be discussed at a remote pretrial conference on Friday.

According to state police, Gomez Cruz, a senior at Westbrook High School 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.