Negligent Homicide Charge Filed In I-84 2024 Tractor-Tailer Crash

UNION, CT — A truck driver from Massachusetts has been charged with negligent homicide in connection with a year-old highway crash that left two trucks in Morey Pond and an Enfield man dead, state police said.

In addition to the negligent homicide charge, 33-year-old James Desruisseaux, of Hyde Park, MA, was charged via a warrant with making a false statement and failure to drive in the proper lane. He was released on a $50,000 bond and is due on Rockville Superior Court on March 26, records show.

The crash involved two tractor-trailers and took place at 1:58 a.m. on Feb. 29 , 2024, on the eastbound side of Interstate 84 near Exit 72. Carlos A. Vega, 45, of Enfield, was killed in the crash. Alcohol and drugs were not a factor, according to a warrant.

According to a warrant, the trucks became entangled and wound up traveling off the highway and into Morey Pond, which is bisected by I-84. The cab of the truck driven by Desruisseaux was partially submerged and he managed to escape, according to a warrant. He was taken to Rockville General Hospital with what police described as minor injuries, according to a warrant.

Vega's truck was submerged, and a coroner's report indicated that the cause of death was "drowning with blunt force trauma to the torso."

The speed of the trucks at the time of the collision was between 60 and 63 mph, according to a warrant.

Weather conditions involved "a prolonged, ongoing, period of high wind," according to a warrant."