All charges dropped against driver going 38MPH who killed New Haven pedestrian

By Randall Beach Updated 10:13 am EDT, Thursday, March 14, 2019

NEW HAVEN — Agnese Izzo, who struck and killed a pedestrian while driving near Yale New Haven Hospital two years ago, has had all four charges nolled.

Police said Izzo, now 30, of Aspen Glen Drive, Hamden, was driving up to 13 mph above the speed limit just before her car hit Melissa Tancredi while the victim was standing on a sidewalk on South Frontage Road at its intersection with York Street. This occurred at about 3:15 p.m. on Jan. 17, 2017.

Tancredi, a Waterbury resident, “was vaulted into the air, struck the traffic control signal box and then landed across the sidewalk and roadway,” according to the police arrest warrant for Izzo. Tancredi was taken to the nearby hospital, where she died.

Izzo was charged with four counts: negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, following too closely, failure to yield to a pedestrian and traveling unreasonably fast.

But Izzo’s attorney, Hugh Keefe, said it was proper to have the charges nolled because “It was an accident. There was no criminal intent.”

“Unfortunately, this happens in our society with the use of automobiles,” Keefe added. “This was tragic for both sides.”

But Keefe maintained: “There’s no evidence of a crime here.”

Asked about the speed of Izzo’s vehicle — the police warrant said it reached 38 mph in a 25 mph zone — Keefe said, “If all you can prove is 13 mph above the speed limit, that’s not enough evidence to prove misconduct with a motor vehicle.”

Keefe added, “I don’t think a jury would have convicted her. There was no evidence of intent here.”

The prosecutor in the case, Assistant State’s Attorney, Laura DeLeo, did not return phone messages seeking more information on why the nolles were granted. Superior Court Judge Melanie Cradle presided over the session.

Keefe said Izzo pleaded nolo contendere to the four charges and they were then nolled. Keefe said Izzo did not deliver a statement during the session but simply answered routine questions from Cradle about the mechanics of the disposition.

Keefe also said Tancredi’s family was represented at the court hearing by an attorney, whose name Keefe could not remember.

“He said the family was disappointed” by the outcome of the case, Keefe added.

Keefe said part of the nolle agreement called for Izzo to have her driver’s license suspended. But Keefe said he did not recall how long the suspension will be in effect, nor did he have time to look it up in his files.

A New Haven Superior Court clerk said this information is available only through the state Department of Motor Vehicles. But DMV spokesman Jim Carson said Wednesday DMV has no records about a license suspension for Izzo. Carson said it might take several days for such information to be relayed from the court system to DMV. The court session occurred Monday.

Asked about Izzo’s legal right to drive since Tancredi’s death two years ago, Keefe said, “She has had the right to drive.”

According to the arrest warrant, before the collision Izzo was driving eastbound on South Frontage Road in a gray Infiniti G35X in a left-turn-only lane, which does not continue past the intersection of York Street.

“She did not execute a left turn but continued to travel straight, off the travel portion of the roadway and onto the sidewalk,” the warrant stated. “She struck Melissa Tancredi, who stood on the northeast sidewalk.”

The warrant noted that a police officer who responded to the scene spoke with Izzo immediately after the crash. “She recalled that she slammed on her brakes and then struck a pedestrian who was on the sidewalk. She could not provide any details as to what happened prior to the crash or why she drove onto the sidewalk.”

Another police officer who spoke with Izzo reported “she appeared very distraught as she cried and breathed heavily,” the warrant stated. “When asked, she was unsure what road she was on and had no recollection of what had happened.”

A third police officer who interviewed Izzo after she was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital quoted Izzo saying she had worked all day at the cardiac center at that hospital. She told that officer she was driving on South Frontage Road when she had to “brake very hard,” the warrant stated. “She did not remember what caused her to brake hard. When she stopped the car, she noticed a female on the ground.”

According to the warrant, the hospital staff did not perform tests on Izzo’s blood or urine “and there were no notes in the records to indicate that hospital personnel suspected she was under the influence of any type of drugs and/or alcohol. Mrs. Izzo denied while receiving treatment at the hospital having any other medical conditions that could have contributed to the crash.”

Police interviewed four witnesses to the crash. One of them said she was standing at that intersection, waiting to cross the street, when she saw a gray Infiniti driving east on South Frontage Road “at a high rate of speed,” the warrant said.

“The vehicle was in the left turn lane but did not travel left and continued straight,” the warrant quoted the witness. “The vehicle drove onto the northeast sidewalk and struck a pedestrian. The pedestrian flew several feet into the air and then landed in the roadway. Several bystanders immediately rushed over to provide aid.”

A second witness told police the Infiniti pulled out of a parking lot near Orchard Street in front of the witness’ vehicle. According to the warrant, “She saw the Infiniti brake hard in order to avoid impact with the vehicle that she was behind.”

A third witness told police she was walking on York Street when she heard a loud sound and then saw a car on the sidewalk and an unresponsive woman lying in the street.

“She eventually saw the driver of the car exit the vehicle,” the warrant said of the witness. This witness reported: “The driver had her phone to her ear.” The witness heard her say: “I think I killed someone.”

A week after the crash, police obtained a search warrant to search Izzo’s cellphone. According to the warrant, records obtained from Verizon Wireless showed Izzo was not texting or talking on the phone at the time of the crash.

But the warrant added the Verizon records “do not show if she was using any other phone applications such as Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. on the phone at/or leading up to the crash.”

The warrant stated Izzo’s attorney at the time, Kenny Levine, advised police that Izzo “would not be providing the passcode to unlock her iPhone for further examination.”

At the time of Izzo’s arrest, Levine told the New Haven Register that Izzo had tried to help Tancredi after the crash. Levine added: “My client is incredibly distraught over what happened that day and feels horrible about the entire situation.” He said she was no longer working at the hospital.

According to the warrant, videotapes from surveillance cameras near the intersection showed the Infiniti was on South Frontage Road and “traveled too close to the vehicle in front of it.” The tapes also showed “the vehicle was seen straddling the line between the center lane and left turn lane before it switched into the left turn lane.” A videotape of the crash showed “the vehicle did brake prior to impact (brake lights are seen) but does not engage in any evasive maneuvers such as steering.”

The warrant stated a police inspection of the car did not show any defects indicating a mechanical failure that would have contributed to the crash. The inspection showed the car was traveling at 35 mph two seconds prior to the airbag deploying and 38 mph one second prior to its deployment.

The warrant concluded: “The state of mind and the actions of the driver prior to the crash are unknown and inexplicable. Nevertheless, Izzo caused the crash by operating a motor vehicle in a manner indifferent to the risks her driving posed to human life.”

The fatal crash was the third in the last nine years in that area and the second fatal incident near the intersection since April 2008, when a medical school student was fatally struck while crossing South Frontage Road near York. A year later, a research scientist was fatally struck a few blocks away, on a South Frontage Road intersection at College Street.