Negligent homicide probed in fatal crash with Milford cop
Cars seized by state police officers investigating Orange accident involving Milford cops
Frank Juliano
Aug. 31, 2009 Updated: Nov. 9, 2009 11:30 p.m.
The crash that left a young couple dead June 13 when their car collided in Orange with a cruiser driven by a Milford police officer is being investigated as negligent homicide.
State Police examined the Ford Crown Victoria police car driven by Officer Jason Anderson and the 2008 Mazda carrying Ashlie Krakowski and Dave Servin, both 19-year-old Orange residents, using a search-and-seizure warrant.
A powertrain control module that records data including vehicle speed, tire condition and braking system status, was recovered from Anderson's cruiser when the warrant was executed June 17, investigators said in court documents.
The device, which is activated whenever the airbags are deployed, has been in most Ford vehicles since 2001 at the recommendation of the National Transportation Safety Board.
The warrant affidavit by Troopers Joseph Russo and Tony Cretella also states that three small bags of what is believed to be marijuana were recovered from Servin's body as it was being prepared for autopsy.
The material was tested, but the results are not part of the file in Derby Superior Court.
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Anderson, who has been medically cleared to return but remains off duty, was returning from a mutual-aid call in West Haven about 2:15 a.m. June 13, when his cruiser collided with the couple's car on the Boston Post Road near Dogwood Road.
Witnesses have said that Anderson may have been speeding. The crash was recorded on the dashboard video camera of Officer Rick Pisani, who was driving his Milford cruiser behind Anderson's.
State Police have refused to allow the Connecticut Post to view the video because it is evidence in an ongoing investigation.
But the search-and-seizure warrant signed by Judge Eddie Rodriguez Jr. on June 16 was made available Thursday. In it, the Milford Superior Court judge grants the investigators' request that copies of the warrant not be provided to the owners of the vehicles.
Nothing in the file indicates which of the teens was driving at the time of the crash.
A report filed after the vehicles were examined at the State Police Troop I barracks in Bethany noted that the Mazda was crushed, but the interior of the police cruiser was mostly intact.
Investigators took blood, saliva and DNA samples from both vehicles and searched them for illegal and prescription drugs.
They also recovered Servin's Nike shoes and Krakowski's flipflops from the wreckage.
Lt. J. Paul Vance said Thursday that there is no new public information from the crash investigation, which is expected to take a month or more to complete.
Investigators state in the warrant application that the crime they are investigating is negligent homicide, and that they "have probable cause to believe and do believe that evidence of the above stated crime will be found within the Crown Victoria.''
Neither Servin's nor Krakowski's parents could be reached for comment Thursday.
Hugh Keefe, the lawyer who represents Anderson, said earlier that a search-and-seizure warrant would not be necessary, "because everyone is cooperating.'' Vance said the warrant was sought "to abide by all the laws and rules of evidence, and to get the court's blessing.''
Correspondent John Mongillo Jr. contributed to this report.
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If you're up really early in the morning and you see or hear something newsworthy, I want to hear from you. I cover breaking news on weekday mornings, feeding the web sites of Hearst Connecticut Media's four dailies. I have spent most of a 30-year journalism career at the Connecticut Post, including 12 years as the New Haven County Bureau Chief, based in Milford. I've also worked at the Waterbury Republican-American. My two books, the novel Entr'acte and A Brief History of Milford (The History Press, 2010) are available on Amazon. I have an M.A. in American Studies from Fairfield University, and a B.A. in Journalism from Marquette University in Milwaukee. I grew up in East Haven, CT and stayed in the area. I'm a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan.