Jillian Hegarty, a 20-year-old Trinity College sophomore from Vermont, was killed and two others were injured after being struck by a Volkswagen SUV on New Britain Avenue in Hartford before midnight on March 31, 2022. The driver fled the scene.

Hegarty and the two other students were transported to Hartford Hospital following the crash, and Hegarty was pronounced dead after midnight.

Karanja Thomas, 45, of Hartford was arrested by the Hartford Police Department on Wednesday on an active warrant after a nine-month-long investigation into the crash. Thomas is charged with negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, third-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment, evading responsibility resulting in death, evading responsibility resulting in injury and operation of a motor vehicle under a suspended license.

According to the warrant affidavit, Thomas was allegedly linked to the crime by DNA analysis, surveillance footage from the crash and interviews with witnesses.

Video footage from city cameras showed a vehicle matching the body style of a Volkswagen Touareg stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of Wethersfield Avenue and Brown Street minutes after the crash. The SUV had front-end damage consistent with an impact, the warrant affidavit said.

In one video reviewed by police, the driver of the Volkswagen allegedly exited the SUV and checked the front-end damage before returning to the vehicle and continuing eastbound on Airport Road, the warrant said.

Police also found a “VW” vanity plate and part of a Volkswagen grill near the crash scene, according to the warrant. Police ran a search on the plate number and linked it to an address on Newhall Street in New Haven. Officers checked the location and located a Volkswagen with similar damage parked in a driveway at a nearby address.

Police spoke with a resident of the address, identified as 38-year-old woman, who allegedly said she saw the vehicle parked in the driveway around 2 to 3 a.m. but did not know who owned it, the warrant affidavit said.

The SUV was then towed to the Hartford Police Department where officers collected DNA samples from several areas of the car, including the interior door handles, steering wheel, gear shifter and the rim of a plastic cup in a cup holder, according to the warrant affidavit.

Investigators ran a records check on the vehicle, which showed that Thomas had been pulled over twice in the Volkswagen in 2021 and issued a misdemeanor summons on each occasion, the affidavit said. He was also in the car with the New Haven woman when her 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee was pulled over in November 2021.

A records check for Thomas also showed that his license had been suspended since Sept. 14, 2012, according to the warrant affidavit.

Based on the new information, police re-interviewed the New Haven woman on April 12, 2022. She allegedly told police she didn’t know anything about the Volkswagen that was parked in her driveway, the warrant said. When asked about Thomas, she told police she didn’t know the name until she was told that police knew she was stopped in a vehicle with Thomas in November of 2021. She then allegedly said she knew Thomas as “KT,” and they had known each other for only about a year, the warrant said. She allegedly told police she always saw “KT” in rental vehicles, and he sometimes stayed at her house. She also allegedly said she had not seen him since the day of the crash, according to the warrant.

She provided investigators with a contact for Thomas. He told investigators to contact his lawyer when reached by police, according to the warrant.

Police learned that the Volkswagen was registered to a 37-year-old Hartford woman, the warrant affidavit said. Police said they interviewed the Hartford woman over the phone on April 20, 2022. She allegedly told police she registered the car for Thomas to drive and had not seen him for approximately two months, the warrant affidavit said. She told police he paid for the car and she gave him the title, even though it was registered under her name, according to the warrant.

On June 25, 2022, police said they received notification from the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection of Scientific Searches that they obtained results consistent with the DNA profile of Thomas on the plastic cup and steering wheel located in the Volkswagen, the warrant affidavit said. The DNA from the gear shifter was allegedly consistent with the DNA profile of a man identified as Benny Goodman, according to the warrant. The Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection of Scientific Searches requested a known sample from the two men for comparison, the warrant said.

Police obtained a search and seizure warrant for Thomas’ DNA on Oct. 31, 2022. The DNA was collected on Nov. 3, 2022, in Manchester. Thomas declined an interview with police on this day, the warrant said. Police then submitted the DNA for comparison with previously collected evidence on Nov. 7, 2022.

Officers also obtained a search and seizure warrant for a DNA sample from Goodman on Nov. 16, 2022. Goodman was already in custody at the time after being arrested by Hartford police in an unrelated incident. He is not charged in connection with the hit-and-run crash.

Goodman agreed to an interview with police and told them he was in the passenger seat of the Volkswagen on the night of the crash, according to the warrant affidavit. He said a person he grew up with named Karanja was driving that night. He said they had picked up some girls he didn’t know and gave them a ride and then Thomas dropped him off around 9 or 10 p.m. on Gillett Street, according to the warrant affidavit. Goodman told police Thomas was the only person in the car at the time he was dropped off, the warrant said.

Goodman said he saw Thomas at a gas station after the crash and Thomas allegedly told him that “they,” meaning the police, may want to talk to him because of his fingerprints in the car, the warrant affidavit said. He said it was his first time in Thomas’ Volkswagen but he knew that the car belonged to Thomas and that he drove it.

Police submitted his DNA sample for comparison on Nov. 21, 2022, the warrant said.

The DNA results were returned on Jan. 4, 2023, and showed a positive match for Thomas, the warrant said. The results for the gear shifter were inconclusive, according to the warrant.

Following the positive result, police applied for and obtained the arrest warrant charging Thomas. He was arraigned on Thursday and charged with negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, third-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment, evading responsibility resulting in death, evading responsibility resulting in injury and operation of a motor vehicle under a suspended license.

The Plainfield Police Department responded to the Wendy’s on Pratt Road in Plainfield before 10 p.m. on Thursday for a 911 call reporting a verbal argument over a refusal of service. Police arrived on the scene and spoke with several members of the Woodstock Academy basketball team who said they were refused service and called racial slurs by the manager on-site.

Officers identified the manager as 22-year-old Brett White of Canterbury. White allegedly admitted to using racial slurs and was arrested around 10:15 p.m.

White was charged with second-degree breach of the peace and later released on a $10,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in Danielson Superior Court on Feb. 21.

Glenn London, 37, of New Haven is charged with two counts of fourth-degree larceny stemming from two alleged thefts at a Target located at 125 Buckland Hills Drive in South Windsor on Oct. 21 and Oct. 26, 2022, according to police.

Police said London allegedly stole over $1,700 worth of LEGO sets on Oct. 21 and over $1,400 worth of LEGO sets on Oct. 26.

London was held in lieu of a $10,000 bond and appeared in Manchester Superior Court on Thursday, according to court records.

Hartford Police Department officers saw an Infiniti QX80 that had previously fled multiple motor vehicle stop attempts on Thursday around 10:20 p.m. Police attempted to pull the vehicle over, but it again refused to stop. The officers deployed stop sticks as the Infiniti got onto Interstate 84 West and followed the car until it stopped near Exit 44, police said.

Two people exited the Infiniti and attempted to flee on foot. Police were able to get the driver in custody, but the other occupant evaded arrest, police said.

Police said they searched the vehicle and allegedly found two 9-millimeter handguns, 930 wax paper sleeves of a fentanyl and heroin mixture, 39 capsules of crack cocaine, over 26 grams of crack cocaine, nearly 20 grams of raw fentanyl, nearly six grams of powdered cocaine and over $550 in cash.

One of the handguns was reported stolen out of South Windsor in 2021, police said.

The driver was identified as Johnny Rodriguez, 26, of New Britain. He was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a firearm, two counts of possession of a pistol without a permit, two counts of weapons in a motor vehicle, possession of a stolen firearm, two counts of possession of a high-capacity magazine, two counts of possession of narcotics with intent to sell, two counts of possession of narcotics, interfering with an officer, disobeying an officers signal and failure to obey a stop sign.

The “vague” threat was reported around 6:30 a.m. on Friday over the school’s tip line, according to Hartford Lt. Aaron Boisvert.

Boisvert said the bomb threat was found to be erroneous and students were returned to class.

This is not the first bomb threat at the school this school year. There was one reported on Dec. 2, 2022. That threat was also reported around 6:30 a.m. before students were scheduled to begin their school days.

Police were notified of several incidents on Monday that allegedly took place at Buckley Residence Hall in the southern portion of campus. Residents of the building reported that someone entered their rooms while they were sleeping and stole some items, according to UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz.

One resident reported that they were woken up by a man who they did not recognize in their room. The resident asked the man what they were doing in their room, and the man left without responding, Reitz said.

In each of the instances, the student’s door was unlocked before the man entered their room. The man was described as a college-aged man with brown hair, Reitz said.

Students were reminded to lock their doors and report suspicious incidents to campus police. Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to contact the UConn police at 860-486-4800.

Gordon “Mac” Southby, 18, of Glastonbury and 15-year-old Andra Spencer of Colchester were killed in a crash between a motorcycle and an SUV on Hebron Avenue in Glastonbury on Sept. 25, 2022.

Following an investigation, it was determined that several factors contributed to the crash, each of which was determined to be due to Southby’s operation of his motorcycle, according to police.

On the night of the crash, police responded to the intersection of Hebron Avenue and the Route 2 on-ramp for a reported crash. Spencer, who was sitting in the back seat of the SUV, and Southby were transported to the hospital for serious injuries and were later pronounced dead. The SUV driver, identified as Spencer’s mother, Amorette Hight, and a passenger, were transported to the hospital with serious injuries, police said.

According to police, Southby had an elevated blood-alcohol level and THC in his system. At the time of the crash, Southby had two pending cases for alleged reckless driving and driving without a license, according to court records. Both cases were dismissed following his death, and his mother heavily refuted their validity in September.

According to a warrant for one of the pending cases, Southby was also allegedly involved in other incidents with his motorcycle several times earlier in 2022.

“This has been an ongoing problem,” the officer wrote in the arrest warrant. “I have given Southby verbal warnings about riding dirt bikes on the roadway, along with a ticket and a summons for the same behavior. The behavior has continued, progressed and is becoming more dangerous.”

Spencer was a Bacon Academy student who was a week away from turning 16. Her “Sweet 16? party was already planned and she was looking forward to it, according to her father, Brian Spencer, following the crash.

She was killed while heading home to Colchester in her mother’s SUV, according to Brian Spencer.

Spencer died about 24 hours after her homecoming dance. Her dad described her as a social person with great friends. She wanted to go to college to become a therapist.

“She cared so much for those who needed help,” her dad told the Courant after the crash. “She was so alive and happy. She loved taking pictures of sunsets.”

Southby’s mother, Veronica Southby, said he was on his way home from getting a cheeseburger with money he made helping a man fix his car. Riding his motorcycle was a passion of his, his mother told the Courant after the crash.

He was a senior at Glastonbury High School. He was an Eagle Scout and wanted to be a Navy SEAL, his mother said.

Troopers responded to I-91 North in Windsor for a reported crash before 7 a.m., state police said. A Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck was traveling on I-91 North on the Exit 38 HOV off-ramp when the driver, identified as Leonard Price, 66, of Manchester, lost control. The truck collided with the concrete median barrier, drove through the Poquonock Avenue intersection and hit the concrete bridge abutment on the opposite side of the intersection.

Price suffered serious injuries as a result of the crash, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, state police said.

The HOV lane was closed following the crash, state police said. All traffic near Poquonock Avenue near Exit 38 was redirected onto I-91 North and South, according to the Windsor Police Department.

Drivers were asked to seek alternate routes, police said. Windsor police were assisting with traffic control, according to Windsor Capt. Andrew Power.

The collision is under investigation. Anyone who witnessed the crash or has a car equipped with a dash cam is asked to contact Trooper Michael Dean at Troop H at 860-534-1098 or through email at michael.dean@ct.gov.

First responders were at the scene of a crash on Route 9 South near the merge with Interstate 91 in Cromwell around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday when another vehicle lost control while trying to drive around a bend in the road. The vehicle, a Honda Civic driven by a 43-year-old Manchester man, then traveled through the grassy gore area and entered the crash scene.

The Honda struck Trooper William Atkins and Cromwell firefighter Jon Bicking before coming to an uncontrolled stop in the right shoulder, state police said.

Bicking sustained serious injuries in the crash and Atkins had minor injuries, according to state police. They were both transported to Hartford Hospital and have since been released, according to State Sgt. Christine Jeltema.

The driver was charged with several motor vehicle violations and was released on a $1,000 non-surety bond. He is scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on Feb. 27, state police said.

Marissa Ganavage, 49, of Watertown was arrested on Tuesday and charged in connection with a series of thefts that were reported at Watertown Meat Center from January to October 2022, police said.

She allegedly stole over $90,000 from the meat market by manipulating transactions during her tenure at the store, police said. Detectives discovered the discrepancies during a lengthy investigation into the stolen money.

Ganavage was charged with first-degree larceny and was released from custody on a $50,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear in Waterbury Superior Court on Feb. 14.