HARTFORD
- Nineteen months after teenager Henry Dang was struck and killed while riding
his bicycle in Windsor Locks, jury selection is set to begin for the trial of a
former police officer accused of crashing into the high school sophomore.
The
prosecution and defense in the case of Michael Koistinen of Suffield are
scheduled to start picking jurors Monday in Hartford Superior Court. The trial
is slated to begin June 19.
The
former police officer is charged with first-degree manslaughter, misconduct
with a motor vehicle, and tampering with evidence in the Oct. 30, 2010,
accident that killed the 15-year-old Dang. Koistinen, 26, faces up to 30 years
in prison if convicted of all three charges.
Prosecutor
John Fahey and defense lawyer Raymond Hassett declined to comment about jury
selection or the trial. A lawyer for Dang’s family did not return a message.
Police
say Koistinen had been drinking beer and other alcoholic beverages for several
hours, including outside a University of Connecticut football game and at a
Suffield bar, before he struck Dang at more than 70 miles per hour in a 35
miles-per-hour zone. One of the Windsor Locks officers who responded to the
scene was Koistinen’s father, Sergeant Robert Koistinen.
A
State Police investigation found that Robert Koistinen drove his son away from
the crash site to the police station and back as many as three times, and later
prevented an investigating officer from interviewing and getting a blood sample
from Michael Koistinen when he was treated at a hospital. Robert Koistinen was
charged with hindering the investigation and awaits trial. Both father and son
were fired from the police department.
An
82-page independent investigation report found a series of problems with the
way police responded to the accident, including officials’ failure to question
Michael Koistinen about possible alcohol consumption at the scene and their
failure to test his blood-alcohol level. The report found no evidence of a
cover-up, but faulted department officials for a lack of leadership and poor
management.
Troopers
said authorities found an unopened 30-pack of beer, several other unopened beer
containers and many bottle caps in Michael Koistinen’s car. They also said a
beer glass was found near the scene and officials believe Koistinen threw it
from his car, which resulted in the tampering with evidence charge. Police and
paramedics at the scene said they did not notice any signs of Koistinen being
intoxicated.
Because
a blood test was not done, authorities said they could not charge Koistinen
with drunken driving. Court records show that hospital officials destroyed a
urine sample from Koistinen under hospital policy before police obtained a
search warrant for Koistinen’s medical records.
Michael
Koistinen’s former lawyer had denied allegations that Koistinen was drunk, and
blamed the accident on the night’s darkness.
Dang’s family settled its wrongful death suit
against Michael Koistinen and a former tavern owner last year for $420,000.