A woman has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges in a crash off of Interstate 91 in Wallingford last year where she struck and killed a Connecticut Department of Transportation worker.
Denise Lucibello, 56, of East Haven faced sentencing on Friday in Meriden Superior Court.
According to the clerk’s office, she was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of probation.
In August, Lucibello pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The charges stem from a crash on June 28, 2024, that took the life of 26-year-old Andrew DiDomenico of Newington, according to Connecticut State Police. State officials said DiDomenico was working on the Wharton Brook Connector when he was struck just after 9:15 a.m. on the Exit 13 on-ramp of I-91 South.
Troopers responded to the area on a report of a car versus pedestrian crash and shut down the on- and off-ramps in both directions of I-91. DiDomenico was working alongside the shoulder of the ramp policing trash for mowing crews when a Nissan Sentra, heading east on the Wharton Brook Connector to I-91, drove into the right shoulder and entered the grass roadside and struck him, state police said.
DiDomenico suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to state police. The Nissan driver, who was later identified as Lucibello, stopped and remained at the scene.
According to state police, Lucibello was allegedly showing signs of impairment. State police said she was arrested after failing field sobriety testing.
Lucibello was initially charged with illegal operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license, illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failure to drive in the proper lane, failure to slow down or move over for a non-emergency vehicle and misconduct with a motor vehicle. In September 2024, prosecutors announced they had filed a manslaughter charge against her.
Following the fatal crash, Gov. Ned Lamont issued a statement calling the incident a “heartbreaking tragedy” and one that he says “never should have happened.”
“Andrew was with several of his colleagues in a work zone doing routine road maintenance when he was struck and killed by a driver,” Lamont said. “I am both outraged and saddened. I implore everyone getting behind the wheel to be fully alert and pay attention to what is happening on the road around them at all times.
