Manchester Man Accused Of Negligent Homicide In Crash In Rindge

RINDGE, NH — A Manchester man faces charges in the death of an Ashby, Massachusetts, woman in an accident that occurred in November 2023 in Rindge.

Elie Embal Angol Ayaya, 25, of Manchester, is accused of negligent homicide for negligently causing the death of Kiersten M. Bankowski and one count of second-degree Assault for causing serious bodily injury to Sean M. O’Loughlin, according to Rindge police.

Ayaya was arraigned in the Cheshire Superior Court on Thursday and released on $5,000 cash bail on Friday. The trial date has not been set yet.

On Nov. 17, 2023, at approximately 7:31 p.m., the Rindge police and fire departments were dispatched to the intersection of Route 119 and Payson Hill Road for a report of a motor vehicle accident involving two vehicles with two occupants entrapped in one vehicle.

Ayaya was driving a 2020 Subaru Legacy 4D Sedan when he struck O’Loughlin, 43, of Ashby, MA, driving a 2021 GMC Sierra. Bankowski, 33, of Ashby, was a passenger and she died from injuries.

After the Rindge Police Department investigation, it was determined Ayaya had traveled into the intersection of Cathedral Road and Route 119 at a high rate of speed and had failed to stop at the posted stop sign. Ayaya’s vehicle then collided with a westbound pickup truck. As a result, Bankowski was pronounced deceased at the scene and O’Loughlin sustained serious bodily injury.

Ayaya exhibited no signs of impairment, and the cause of the crash was determined to be negligence, according to Rindge Police.