No Contest Plea in Fatal Drunk Driving Accident

A no-contest plea bargain was entered in the Enfield Superior Court Thursday by the driver of a car involved in a fatal drunk driving accident that killed a rising senior in August 2010.

The plea includes felony charges of second-degree assault with a motor vehicle and second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle and a maximum three years in prison, according to the Hartford Courant. Prosecutors dropped four other charges, including negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, for the driver, 19-year-old Amanda Conway of Suffield.

Conway's lawyer, James Wade, will seek a lesser sentence for his client at the sentencing hearing currently scheduled for June 28, the Courant said.

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The accident occurred during the early morning hours of August 25, 2010, when a car driven by Conway fishtailed near the exit 47E onramp to I-91 in Enfield and was hit by a tractor-trailer. The impact caused the death of Suffield resident Alexa Crosby, 17. Ann Bauchiero, the other passenger in the car, received severe lacerations to her face and head.

Conway admitted to being the driver to police that responded to the scene and was severely distraught after the accident, according to the original warrant for the case. That warrant also stated Conway's blood alcohol concentration was .065, more than three times the legal limit for people under the age of 21. An open bottle of vodka was found in Conway's car following the accident.

Conway, Bauchiero and Crosby had been together in the hours before the fatal accident. The warrant included statements from witnesses that Conway and Bauchiero had been seen drinking, while Crosby had not.

Amanda Conway is the daughter of Matthew Conway, the former Democratic State Representative for Suffield and parts of East Granby and Windsor in the General Assembly.