A Cromwell man who is accused of hitting and killing a tow truck driver who had stopped on Interstate 91 in North Haven in May 2022 to help a driver who had a flat tire has been arrested. State police said he told them that he had used heroin before getting on the highway.
State police found the victim, 38-year-old Christopher Russell, lying on the highway when they responded to the northbound side of I-91 near exit 10 at 6:21 p.m. on Saturday, May 21.
State police said another trooper also responded and found a red Nissan Rogue with damage to the whole driver’s side near exit 14 in Wallingford.
The driver suspected of hitting Russell, 55-year-old Luis Resto, of Cromwell, was unresponsive. Police said they suspected he was under the influence of narcotics and began treating him at the scene. After he became more alert, he was brought to Midstate Medical Center.
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During the investigation, police spoke with the woman Russell had stopped to help.
She said she got a flat tire while driving on I-91 North around 6:08 p.m., pulled over near exit 11, put on her hazard lights and got some tools out of her trunk.
That was when Russell pulled up and asked her if she needed help changing the tire. The lights of the tow truck were on as he helped her, she told police.
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Russell told the woman that he was done with work and was heading to Windsor to drop off the tow truck, according to state police. After changing the tire, he went back to the truck.
As the woman was starting to pull away, she felt something hit the back of her vehicle and she saw a red vehicle, that she believed to be a Nissan, heading north in the right lane, state police said.
She got out of her vehicle and saw damage. Then she saw Russell on the ground. He was unresponsive and didn’t have a pulse.
She called 911 and started performing CPR until North Haven Police, Fire Department and EMS arrived.
Police said Resto drove for another five miles after hitting Russell and stopped when he hit a guardrail in the center median.
When police spoke with Resto at the hospital, he said he had left a friend’s house in New Haven, bought a small bag of heroin and used it before getting on the highway, state police said.
He also said he didn’t remember getting into a crash, just that paramedics put him on a stretcher, police said.
One of the witnesses who stopped after the red SUV hit the guardrail told state police that the driver was “gasping for air” and “incoherent” and there was a “vape-like” object in the his hand.
When police arrived, the witness left but contacted state police after learning about a fatal crash and looking at dash camera footage from the vehicle, according to state police.
Police said dashcam footage showed the Nissan traveling in an erratic manner and hitting the guardrail several times before stopping.
On May 24, detectives examined evidence from the inside and outside of the Nissan Rogue and state police said there was a wax paper fold containing a white powdery substance within reach of the driver’s seat.
On Jan. 9, investigators received a report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determining that Russell died of “blunt impact injury of head, torso, and extremities” and the manner of death indicated “accident.”
Resto turned himself in to state police on Monday after learning there was a warrant for his arrest.
He has been charged with manslaughter in the second degree with a motor vehicle; reckless endangerment in the first degree; misconduct with a motor vehicle; possession of a controlled substance, second offense; operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs/alcohol; evading responsibility resulting in death; failure to maintain a proper lane; and illegal operation failing to move over for an emergency vehicle.
Bond for Resto was set at $50,000. He remains in custody and is due in court on May 17, according to online court documents.
