Press Releases
05/10/2023
Jury Finds Motorist Guilty of Evading Responsibility Charge in 2020 Death of Isaac Alvarez
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Hartford, CT) - Sharmese L. Walcott, Hartford State’s Attorney, announced that a jury today found Sharon Esson, 56, of Hartford, guilty of Evading Responsibility, Resulting in the Death of a Person, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 14-224(a).
According to evidence introduced at trial, on April 10, 2020, West Hartford Police 911 dispatch was contacted by a jogger who notified dispatchers that he had found a man on the side of the road who appeared to be deceased. When police arrived on scene, they found the body of Isaac Alvarez, age 19, as well as debris from an apparent crash. Police recovered debris at the scene and reviewed street camera footage, evidence that connected Esson to the crash.
When questioned by police, Esson stated that she was driving home from work at night when she struck an object. During the Hartford Superior Court trial before the Honorable Frank M. D'Addabbo, Jr., evidence was presented showing that Esson knew she had hit something, yet she failed to verify what the object was that she had hit, and therefore failed to provide assistance to the victim. Instead, she continued to drive to her home. The victim had been skateboarding to his home after finishing work at a nearby McDonald’s when he was fatally struck by Esson’s vehicle.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Samantha Magnani with the assistance of Inspector Robert Nesci.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 28, 2023.