Hartford police have charged Susan Plaza of Garden Street with drunken driving and second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle in connection with a November crash that killed a passenger in the car Plaza was driving.
Police took Plaza into custody Friday morning and she was arraigned later in the day in Superior Court in Hartford. She remains in custody with bail set at $150,000.
Police said Plaza was behind the wheel of a 2000 Honda Accord that turned into the path of another car at Main and Mather streets about 11:45 p.m. Nov. 16. Yolanda Santiago, 47, was in the passenger seat of Plaza’s car and was injured when the Honda was struck by 2009 Audi Q7 driven by by John Moran, 30.
Plaza and Moran suffered minor injuries in the crash. Santiago was treated at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, but died a short time later. An autopsy determined the cause of death was blunt injury impact of the torso, according to the warrant for Plaza’s arrest.
Hartford police crime scene division detectives, who investigate crashes, used a search warrant to obtain samples of Plaza’s blood drawn during her treatment at St. Francis. Analysis of those samples revealed that Plaza had a blood alcohol content of .17 about 45 minutes after the crash. In Connecticut, .08 is considered legally drunk.
The blood analysis also revealed the presence of cannabinoids, marijuana’s active components.
In an interview with police, Plaza said she was driving home after attending a birthday party in the city’s south end when she stopped to turn left at Main and Mather. When the light turned green, according to the warrant, Plaza turned into the path of the Audi, which was southbound on Main Street and had the right of way.
Capital City Command Center cameras captured video of the crash. In addition to manslaughter and drunken driving, police charged Plaza with failure to yield the right of way when turning left.
David Owens can be reached at dowens@courant.com.
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