South Windsor Applies for Grant to Smooth Abbe Road Bump Near East Windsor Town Line

outh Windsor has applied for a state grant to change the character of the road where two teenagers died in a car accident over Memorial Day weekend, according to Town Manager Matthew Galligan.

Galligan said in a telephone interview Friday that he applied for the grant earlier this week in response to calls to mitigate the bump on Abbe Road near the East Windsor town line.

That section of road traveling northbound is a popular location for drivers - mostly teens - to speed up and try and “catch air.”

Matthew Masse, 18, of Vernon, and Brooke Wormstedt, 15, of East Windsor, died on May 25 when 19-year-old Sara Ballard lost control of the sports utility vehicle she was driving and crashed into a tree. Masse and Wormstedt were passengers; two other teens in the vehicle - Christine Huppe, 17, of South Windsor, and Megan Barnaby, 16, of East Windsor - were seriously injured.

Ballard, of 405 Sandstone Drive, South Windsor, was charged on Wednesday with two counts of manslaughter in the second degree with a motor vehicle, two counts of assault in the second degree, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and reckless driving. She surrendered to police with her attorney and she was released on a $50,000 bond.

She is scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on July 11.

According to a police report, Ballard was traveling between 84 and 90 miles per hour. The speed limit on that section of road is 30 miles per hour.

Residents of that area said that they have called for a change in the road for some time, as drivers like to jump their cars on the bump. The gouges in that section of road are indications of vehicles bottoming out after going airborne.

It’s something that’s not lost on Galligan.

“If that’s going to be what kids are going to do, then we are looking to change the crown on the road,” Galligan said. “We’re going to get rid of the dip. We’re not just looking for signage.”

According to an affidavit that the Journal Inquirer obtained(subscription required), witnesses reported seeing Ballard smoke marijuana at a party before the accident. Police spokesman Sgt. Scott Custer said in a telephone interview that Ballard tested positive for cannabinoids, the active ingredient for marijuana.

The Journal Inquirer also reported that the affidavit stated that Ballard’s friends urged her to drive faster as she approached the hill in the 2003 Ford Expedition.

The five teens were reportedly at Wormstedt’s home having a party when they decided to leave to get speakers at Huppe’s home, according to the Journal Inquirer.

“Huppe told police they went over the same hill on Abbe Road on the way to her house, and they all agreed Ballard should ‘jump’ on their way back to Wormstedt’s home,” the Journal Inquirer reported.

Before the fateful moment, Barnaby hugged Huppe and said, “Just in case you die, I love you,” the Journal Inquirer reported.

It was the teens’ custom to make such a statement before doing reckless things, the affidavit said.