Man convicted in I-95 crash that killed woman in Old Lyme
May 31—It's been more than six years since Lisa Ferguson of Norwich lost her only daughter, 31-year-old Ashley Ferguson Jones, in a horrific crash on Interstate 95 in Old Lyme in 2016.
Delays in the pending criminal case against the man she blames for her daughter's death ended on Wednesday with a criminal conviction.
Nicolae Marcu, formerly of Bedford, N.H., was convicted in New London Superior Court of misconduct with a motor vehicle in the Dec. 1, 2016, death of Ferguson Jones, a Norwich native who was newly married and living in Middletown.
Ferguson was emotional after the verdict, sharing hugs with family and friends who had attended the daylong trial in New London Superior Court.
"Finally. It's been 6 and a half years. I can't believe they're blaming it on COVID or whatever, but my grief has been crazy, and I'm just so happy justice is finally here for Ashley," Ferguson said. "We shouldn't have had to wait."
Ferguson Jones had stopped her Kia Optima in the southbound breakdown lane of I-95, between exits 70 and 71, to check on her infant daughter in the back seat who had been coughing, police reports show. Jones was outside of her car and leaning into the back driver's side door when the tractor trailer Marcu was driving sideswiped the vehicle.
Evidence presented at trial showed Marcu applied brakes either shortly after or simultaneous to the collision. Jones was pronounced dead at the scene. Her young daughter and another adult passenger were not seriously injured in the crash.
While there was no evidence Marcu was intoxicated or speeding, a person is guilty of misconduct with a motor vehicle when they are found to be criminally negligent in failing to "perceive a substantial an unjustifiable risk."
New London Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy, who presided over the case, said he concluded "that there is no other explanation for what happened here, other than criminal negligence on the part of the defendant."
Marcu had a clear, unobstructed view of Jones and her vehicle "and yet takes no action whatsoever to avoid hitting her," Murphy said.
Assistant State's Attorney David Smith, who prosecuted the case, said he called on the testimony of a witness to the accident who spotted Ferguson Jones in the breakdown lane and was so alarmed at her proximity to the roadway that she changed lanes. The witness, Krystle McLaughlin, testified that the tractor trailer Marcu was operating drifted toward the breakdown lane, Smith said.
This was more than an accident," Smith said. "This was a crash that was brought about by the defendant's criminal negligence in not paying attention or doing anything whatsoever to stop it from happening."
Ferguson said she will always cherish memories of her daughter, the girl who in 1989 was crowned Little Miss Christmas at a local pageant and danced for years at the Luis Pabon Dance Arts Centre in Norwich. Ferguson said her daughter was most recently excited about being a wife and mother, "but never got the chance to flourish."
Marcu, the target of a pending lawsuit associated with the crash, is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 14 in New London Superior Court.
