Plainville Man Pleads Not Guilty To Crash Allegations

By Justin Muszynski, The Bristol Press

July 11, 2022

A Plainville man has pleaded not guilty to charges connected to a fatal accident that authorities said he drove away from, delaying medical attention for the victim.

Jeffrey Wilson Jr., 20, of 35 Basswood St., stood before a judge this week in New Britain Superior Court. During the proceeding, he pleaded not guilty to charges of evading responsibility of an accident which led to death, improper use of a license, marker or registration and operating an unregistered motor vehicle.

Wilson, who is free on $50,000 bond, is due back in court on Aug. 23 for a pretrial hearing.

According to the arrest warrant, Wilson on Oct. 27, around 3:08 a.m., called police and said he hit something in the road while driving his Ford F-150 pickup truck on East Street. Wilson, the warrant said, told police his driver side headlight sustained damage, and that he believed he may have struck a pumpkin.

Responding officers located a male, later identified as Charles Tsiartas, lying face down in the area of 450 East St. Tsiartas, police wrote, was wearing dark clothing and was bleeding from his head. He was unresponsive, not breathing and had no pulse.

Tsiartas, who was 30 years old, was taken to the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain, where he was pronounced dead around 4:30 a.m. Medical reports indicated he suffered a head injury that likely caused him to go into cardiac arrest, as well as broken ribs, a possible pelvic fracture and abrasions.

Police noted in the warrant that a toxicology report for Tsiartas revealed he was under the influence of benzoylecgonine – the main metabolite of cocaine – Fentanyl and Norfentanyl.

When police spoke to Wilson, an officer noted in the warrant, he smelled of marijuana. Police said he denied drinking or smoking that night. An officer told Wilson that he was required to submit to a breath or urine test since he was believed to be involved in a motor vehicle accident that involved serious injuries or a death. Police said in the warrant that Wilson took a breath test and declined to provide a urine sample.

During their investigation, police wrote in the warrant, they determined Tsiartas was walking south on East Street, wearing dark clothing in the rain and was “well into the travel portion of the southbound travel lane.”

Wilson, who was headed south, struck Tsiartas in the area of 450 East St., throwing him into a nearby parking lot. Police noted that Wilson appeared to be driving at a reasonable speed, with his headlights on and his windshield wipers activated. Police said Wilson continued driving after the accident and waited about 12 minutes before calling police, delaying any medical attention that Tsiartas could have received.

Justin Muszynski can be reached at 860-973-1809 or jmuszynski@bristolpress.com.