Norwich man now faces manslaughter charges in Jewett City hit-and-run crash
May 1—GRISWOLD — A Norwich man faces second-degree manslaughter and other charges stemming from a Sept. 22 hit-and-run crash that killed a 50-year-old woman on North Main Street in Jewett City.
State police charged Curt Rivard, Jr., 34, who was in custody at the time of his arrest Tuesday, with second-degree manslaughter, first-degree reckless endangerment, traveling unreasonably fast, failure to drive in the proper lane and failure to exercise due care to avoid a pedestrian.
He was presented in Norwich Superior Court on Tuesday and is being held on a $100,000 bond on these charges. His next court date is May 30 in Norwich Superior Court.
Police said the crash occurred on North Main Street in Jewett City at 7:50 p.m., when a black Subaru WRX struck and killed Kandi Fortuna as she was crossing the street. The vehicle fled the scene.
The vehicle, driven by Rivard, was spotted two hours later by Stonington police and was arrested on the original charges.
Rivard, who has a lengthy criminal record on unrelated cases, initially was charged the day of the Jewett City crash with evading responsibility resulting in death and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He was held on a $500,000 bond at the time.
Rivard was on probation at the time of the fatal crash after being found guilty in December 2022 of disorderly conduct stemming from an incident in Groton, judicial records showed.
State police obtained an arrest warrant for Rivard on the additional charges following a lengthy investigation into the crash.
In 2007, Rivard pleaded guilty at age 18 to setting the former Griswold Town Hall on fire and was sentenced to six years in prison. A year earlier, he also pleaded guilty to vandalizing a nearby flea market.
While in prison, Rivard faced disciplinary action for numerous violations, including several assaults on state Department of Correction staff, according to court records.
He has numerous other recent convictions in several judicial jurisdictions, including Danielson, Norwich and New London, for charges including threatening, breach of peace, interfering with an officer and weapon possession.
