A Voluntown man is accused of waiting almost an hour to contact emergency services following a 2024 motor vehicle crash in Griswold as his front-seat passenger, who later died, was unresponsive and entrapped in the car.
Ronald Rogers, 39, of Voluntown turned himself in on an active arrest warrant on Tuesday and is facing charges of cruelty to persons, evading responsibility resulting in death, second-degree manslaughter, failure to wear a seatbelt and failure to maintain lane in connection with the fatal collision, according to the Connecticut State Police.
Troopers from Troop E from Montville were dispatched to one-vehicle motor vehicle collision on Hell Hollow Road in Griswold around 1:48 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2024, the warrant affidavit for Rogers’ arrest said.
According to the warrant affidavit, a silver 2008 Honda Civic was traveling eastbound on Hell Hollow Road east of the Stone Hill Road intersection when it ran off the left side of roadway and collided with rocks and a tree. The driver, identified as Rogers, exited the vehicle, as the front-seat passenger, identified as 60-year-old Roger Denton of West Warwick, Rhode Island, was trapped inside the vehicle, the warrant affidavit said.
Troop E from Montville was notified about the crash after Quinebaug Valley Emergency Communications said they received a non-emergency call from Rogers who reported that he was in crash and his front passenger was trapped and unresponsive, according to the warrant affidavit.
Additional emergency services were requested along with state police. Arriving troopers discovered that Denton sustained serious injuries and was unresponsive. He was transported to William W. Backus Hospital with life-threatening injuries, the warrant affidavit said.
During the preliminary investigation, the trooper determined the Honda had exited the roadway to the left and into the snow covered shoulder where multiple rocks and trees were located. Two tire marks were visible on the roadway on the left side, according to the warrant affidavit.
“The two tire marks were identified as the right side tires, with the front right tire tracking to the inside of the rear tire mark. These marks showed the Honda was making an adjustment in steering to the left,” the warrant affidavit said. “Following the track of the front tire mark, the Honda’s front tire collided with a large rock on the right side after exiting the roadway.”
According to the warrant affidavit, the large rock had moved approximately six to eight inches to the west and was chipped and scraped from the impact.
The front right rim of the Honda had “a large dent in the rim causing the metal to roll inward and away from the tire’s sidewall,” the warrant affidavit said. “Due to the sideways motion of the vehicle and colliding with a large stone, the Honda then rotated approximately 90 degrees in a counter-clockwise motion” where it entered a roll to the right side and struck a large tree.
Due to the angle and location of impact, the roof crushed inwards where Denton was seated, according to the warrant affidavit.
Rogers provided a written statement to state police stating that Denton has been staying at his house for about a week. Rogers was unsure on when or how the conversation started on the night of the crash, but Rogers claimed that Denton said he wanted a pack of cigarettes. The two men left the house and were trying to go to Plainfield to any gas station that was open, the warrant affidavit said.
Rogers said they were driving when a deer allegedly entered the roadway, according to the warrant affidavit. Rogers claimed that he attempted an “evasive maneuver” around the deer then said he remembered waking up in his vehicle. He said he noticed Denton was not awake and he tried to wake him up, the warrant affidavit said.
Rogers said he noticed that Denton’s door was caved in and he was entrapped. Rogers claimed that he retrieved a car jack out of the vehicle’s trunk and tried to pry open the passenger side door. When that did not work, Rogers claimed that he attempted to see if Denton would be able to exit from the back seat, according to the warrant affidavit.
Rogers said he realized he could not remove Denton from the vehicle, so he claimed that he called 911 and tried to hold Denton’s head upright, the warrant affidavit said. Rogers claimed that he was attempting to make sure Denton could breathe and not choke on his own blood. He said he noticed that Denton was bleeding heavily out of the right side of his head and said he tried to stop the bleeding but could not, according to the warrant affidavit.
At the time of the statement, Rogers had a gash on the back of his head but refused medical attention. He said he and Denton did not have seatbelts on when the motor vehicle collision occurred, the warrant affidavit said.
A screenshot of text messages sent by Rogers to his wife were provided to state police during the investigation. Starting around 12:51 a.m. on the night of the crash, the wife reportedly received the following messages:
“Help”
“ldk what happened”
“But me and your dad are wrecked”
“Roger won’t wake up”
“It’s ducked”
“Plz help me”
“I need help”
“I’m f ”
Rogers wife told state police she was asleep and did not see these messages until the morning, according to the warrant affidavit.
The Quinebaug Valley Emergency Communications noted that they received a phone call on their non-emergency phone line from Rogers around 1:46 a.m. From the time of the text messages to his wife to Rogers’ call to Quinebaug Valley Emergency Communications, approximately 55 minutes had passed. No emergency 911 calls were placed, the warrant affidavit said.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner contacted state police on Dec. 12, 2024 and said Denton had been pronounced dead at Hartford Hospital. According to the medical examiner, Denton’s cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma of head, torso and right lower extremity. The manner of death was listed as accident (passenger in motor vehicle collision), according to the warrant affidavit.
State police requested and were granted a search warrant for Rogers’ cell phone between the hours of 10 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2024 and 2 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2024, the warrant affidavit said.
State police received the report on Nov. 26, 2025. The first outgoing call listed for Dec. 8, 2024, was at approximately 12:09 a.m. to his wife’s phone number, This number was again called at 12:10 a.m. and 12:14 a.m. Three more outgoing calls were then placed. At 12:44 a.m., Rogers attempted an outgoing call to his wife prior to the 12:51 a.m. text messages he sent to her. At 1:46 a.m., Rogers called the routine line to Quinebaug Valley Emergency Communications. According to the warrant affidavit, five different phone numbers were called between 12:09 a.m. and 1:46 a.m.. QVEC was the only emergency/non-emergency dispatch center number called.
The warrant affidavit noted that the actual time of the motor vehicle collision was still unknown, however digital evidence shows that Rogers began texting at 12:51 a.m., thus establishing that the collision with the tree allegedly occurred before that time and that Rogers was aware of the crash and Denton’s condition immediately afterward.
According to the warrant affidavit, state police believe that Rogers did not adequately call for emergency services resulting in a delay of approximately 55 minutes during which there was no attempt made to get medical care for Denton.
Based on the evidence, state police submitted and were granted an arrest warrant for Rogers. Rogers turned himself in at Troop F on Tuesday and was held on a $75,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear at Norwich Superior Court on Dec. 18.
