Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier

Aaron Pelletier

Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier was struck and killed by a truck while conducting a traffic stop on I-84 East near Exit 31 in Southington.

At 2:45 p.m., Trooper Pelletier pulled over a vehicle on the right shoulder of the highway with his emergency equipment activated on his cruiser. While he was speaking with the driver of the car, a truck crossed the dividing line into the shoulder lane, sideswiped his cruiser, and struck him. The driver fled in the vehicle and was apprehended approximately five miles away in a wooded area.

Trooper Pelletier was killed instantly. His canine partner, Roso, was in the cruiser when it was struck, but he was not injured.

The subject was arrested and charged with evading responsibility for a crash causing death, illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs, failure to drive in the proper lane, second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, failure to move over, and illegal operation of a motor vehicle without a driver's license. The suspect pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 18 years in prison in a plea agreement between the state and the suspect.

Trooper Pelletier had served with the Connecticut State Police for nine years and was assigned to Troop H in Hartford. He is survived by his wife and two children.