WILLINGTON – A Stafford man was arrested Monday afternoon after turning himself in to Troop C in Tolland.
Dominic Ledbetter, 19, turned himself in on an active arrest warrant resulting from a fatal crash investigation that began in November 2023.
The accident occurred on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, at approximately 4:30 a.m., when Troopers from Troop C were dispatched to investigate a fatal car crash on River Road at Route 32 in Willington.
Ledbetter is accused of colliding head-on with the vehicle of Clifton Graves, 55.
According to the police report, both were taken to the hospital, but Graves died from his injuries at 5:50 a.m. that same morning. His injuries were listed as blunt force injuries to the head, neck, torso and extremities.
State police said they did not find Ledbetter affected by alcohol or drugs at the scene, and no tests detected any substances in his system.
During the investigation, Ledbetter made a statement to investigators saying he does not drink or use drugs because he is a minor and because of his religious beliefs. He also told investigators that using a phone while driving is dangerous.
“What happened that night is something I will never forget, and I am deeply sorry for what happened. I hope that Mr. Graves’ family is comforted on some level by this statement and that it gives them some closure,” Ledbetter told investigators.
During the investigation, it was discovered that a text message was sent nine minutes before Ledbetter’s phone was used to call 911, but no evidence of activity was found at the time of the crash.
It was also determined that Ledbetter’s vehicle gradually increased in speed and was traveling at 90 km/h in a 70 km/h zone just half a second before the crash.
Ledbetter was charged with traveling unreasonably fast, failure to maintain proper lane and negligent homicide with a motor vehicle. He was released on a $50,000 bond and will appear in Rockville Superior Court on November 25.
