Oxford Man Charged In Connection With Fatal Crash Which Killed 3

OXFORD, CT — An Oxford resident was charged Thursday on a warrant in connection with a traffic collision on Route 8 in Beacon Falls in February which took the lives of three people.

William Kundert, 40, was charged with three counts of second-degree manslaughter, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, reckless driving, failure to maintain proper lane and failure to wear safety belt. He was held on a court-set $1 million bond, and was slated to be arraigned Friday in Derby Superior Court.

According to an affidavit from Connecticut State Police supporting Kundert's arrest, he was driving a Ford F600 truck with a roll-off dumpster full of a load of wood on Route 8 northbound in Beacon Falls around 3:26 p.m. on Feb. 4. The truck veered from the right lane to the left shoulder, where it struck a guardrail and slammed into the rear of a Honda Civic which had slowed down or stopped.

Three passengers in the car, including two children, died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. They were Andresa De Brito-Alves, 25; Laura Alves-Brito, 6; and Riquelme Alves-Brito, 3. The driver of the car was seriously injured, according to the affidavit.

Numerous witnesses reported to state police they had seen the F600 striking concrete barriers on Route 8 in Derby and Seymour prior to the crash, according to the affidavit.

Police obtained a warrant to examine Kundert's medical records from St. Mary's Hospital, and found his blood samples contained benzodiazepines and opiates. A drug and alcohol toxicology report from the Connecticut Department of Scientific Services indicated his blood samples tested positive for the presence of fentanyl, morphine, alprazolam, methadone and methadone metabolite, according to the affidavit.