15-05-2025
CT woman allegedly racing at 120 mph during fatal crash on I-91 charged with manslaughter
A teenager has been charged in connection with a fatal crash on Interstate 91 in Rocky Hill last year after an investigation found that she and the man who was killed were allegedly racing and going around 120 mph.
Mackenzie Simpson, 19, of East Hartford turned herself in on Tuesday in connection with a warrant charging her in the death of 25-year-old D'Andre Charles, also of East Hartford, according to Connecticut State Police. She faces one count of second-degree manslaughter.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the crash occurred on I-91 South in the area of Exit 22 where troopers responded after receiving multiple 911 calls just before 11:50 p.m. on March 30, 2024. Troopers initially found that the collision involved a tractor-trailer and a black 2018 Acura TLX. They then checked the median where the metal beam guardrail was damaged and found that a third vehicle, a white 2018 Acura TLX Tech-A, had gone down an embankment and landed on its roof.
The driver of the Tech-A, who was identified as Charles, was found about 150 feet away against a tree after having been ejected, the warrant affidavit said. His injuries were described as those 'not compatible with life,' state police wrote in the warrant affidavit. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy later found that Charles died of blunt trauma of his head, torso and extremities, the warrant affidavit said. His death was ruled an accident. A toxicology screening came back clean, state police wrote.
Troopers found that Simpson was driving the black Acura with four women inside between 17 and 21 years old. She and two passengers were taken to the hospital for minor injuries, the warrant affidavit said.
The driver of the tractor-trailer did not report any injuries.
When police spoke to the passengers in Simpson's vehicle, they each said they were looking down at their cell phones when they suddenly felt a jolt that they later realized was a crash, the warrant affidavit said.
Simpson told police she was leaving Manchester and was headed to Hartford traveling in the right center lane when she moved over to the right lane to pass a tractor-trailer, the warrant affidavit said. As she did, she said, she was suddenly involved in a crash and her vehicle began to spin, according to the warrant affidavit. She estimated she was going between 70 and 75 mph at the time of the collision.
The driver of the tractor-trailer told police he was in one of the center lanes when he noticed a white car behind him that allegedly appeared to be going at least 100 mph, the warrant affidavit said. The white car looked like it was trying to pass a black vehicle, the driver told police. The driver then felt a collision to the rear passenger side of the tractor-trailer
'The impact was so hard that it jolted my body forward,' the man told police.
The tractor-trailer driver said he then saw the white car crash into a black car, leading to the black car spinning out, the warrant affidavit said. He said he pulled over and waited for emergency responders.
During the investigation, police spoke to a witness who said she was a passenger in a vehicle being driven by her boyfriend when she noticed two drivers who allegedly appeared to be racing, according to the warrant affidavit. She said one vehicle was a white car which passed their vehicle very quickly before the driver of a black car also passed them.
The woman said when the black vehicle moved into the right lane it struck the rear of an Amazon truck and began spinning out, the warrant affidavit said. The black car then struck a guardrail.
The woman said she did not see what happened to the white car, but she noticed that the guardrail on the left side of the road was damaged, according to the warrant affidavit.
The crash was analyzed by the state police Collision, Analysis and Reconstruction Squad which allegedly found that both Acuras being driven by Simpson and Charles were going between 119 and nearly 129 mph prior to the collision, the warrant affidavit said. The analysis found that Simpson tried to brake and steer to the right, but her vehicle struck the rear of the tractor-trailer, state police wrote.
The Acura Simpson was driving continued south in the open space under the tractor-trailer before it began spinning into the right lane where it struck the Acura Charles was driving, according to the warrant affidavit. Simpson's vehicle then struck a guardrail in the right shoulder and continued spinning out of control before it came to rest partially in the right shoulder up against the guardrail, state police wrote.
The Acura Charles was driving spun out of control and partially entered the right shoulder before moving across the travel lanes and into the median, where it went through a guardrail and rolled over, the warrant affidavit said. The vehicle then struck a tree and eventually came to rest on its roof, according to the warrant affidavit. Charles, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the Acura, which had its roof torn and severed when it hit the guardrail, state police wrote.
State police pursued a warrant for Simpson's arrest after finding that the crash was caused by her and Charles allegedly racing, the warrant affidavit said.
State police said Simpson was released on a $100,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in New Britain Superior Court on June 6.
According to an obituary, Charles was remembered 'not just for his smile that could light up any room, but for the warmth and laughter he brought' into others' lives. He graduated from East Hartford High School in 2018 and got married on Aug. 15, 2020.
Charles left behind his wife, their son and a number of other family members, the obituary said.
'D'Andre's life was a living example of joy,' the obituary said. 'He will be best remembered for his love of cars, his jovial spirit and his infectious laughter.'
