Mother Charged With Vehicular Manslaughter After 2023 Crash Which Killed Infant Son: CSP

ENFIELD, CT — A Meriden woman is facing several felony charges in connection with a motor vehicle crash on Interstate 91 in Enfield in Dec. 2023 which claimed the life of her 1-year-old son.

Fransheska Stuart, 32, turned herself in at Troop H in Hartford early Tuesday night. She is charged with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, misconduct with a motor vehicle, risk of injury to a child, first-degree reckless endangerment, operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs, reckless driving and several motor vehicle offenses.

Bond was originally set at $350,000, but was reduced to $250,000 at her arraignment Wednesday in Hartford Superior Court. She was unable to post bond, and is currently in the custody of the Connecticut Department of Correction at York Correctional Institution in Niantic.

According to an affidavit supporting Stuart's arrest, shortly before 2 a.m. on Dec. 10, 2023, she was operating a silver 2006 Honda Accord on the southbound side of I-91 in the area of Exit 45, near the East Windsor border. She was traveling at a high rate of speed when she lost control of the car, swerved into the shoulder and flipped after striking a metal beam guardrail.

Stuart was found pinned underneath the car, as was her son, Isiah Ortiz, who was three days shy of his first birthday. Stuart sustained serious injuries, and her son was taken to Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, where he was pronounced dead, according to the affidavit.

On the front seat of the Honda, investigators found a black purse which contained a plastic bag filled with about five grams of "a crushed white substance," which later tested positive for hallucinogens. Toxicology reports showed Stuart's blood-alcohol content level was 0.12 percent; the legal limit is 0.08. Several narcotic substances, including cocaine, were also found in her system, according to the affidavit.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Ortiz died due to "blunt injuries of torso and head with chest compression." An examination of a child passenger safety seat determined it was not properly installed and was not latched at the time of the crash, according to the affidavit.