TORRINGTON, Conn. — A teenager is facing some serious charges that stem from a tragic accident over the summer. After turning himself in to police, 17-year-old Dylan Brocar was arraigned Monday in court in Torrington.
On June 9th, Dylan Brocar was with four of his friends, driving one of their vehicles on Rossi Road when the vehicle lost control on an embankment, flew into the woods, hit a tree, and burst into flames
The Litchfield teen faces two counts of negligent homicide, after his friends, Thomas Graveline and Matthew Rousseau were killed while he was allegedly driving too fast in the early hours of June 9th.
In Brocar’s own words...”I was driving along roads that I was not familiar with.” He said in a statement from his attorney, “I had never operated that car before. I could not get the high beams to work, and the steering felt loose...”
Brocar’s arrest warrant details the tragic events. The friends were at a bon fire earlier in the night, went home, but devised a plan on Snapchat to sneak out of their homes and find a place to stargaze.
"My officers have kids that are of this age. They acted extremely professionally as they were up there conducting their investigation," said Torrington Police Chief William Baldwin on the day of the crash.
The five friends started driving around 2AM when the vehicle hit a dip in the dark road and plummeted down the embankment. The engine of the vehicle landed 15 feet from the crash. The two juveniles who survived the crash pulled Dylan who had two broken legs and a wrist, to safety. "Two of those individuals ran for help and banged on some of the doors here contacting 911 for the accident," said Chief Baldwin.
All five of the teens attended Litchfield High School where hundreds gathered for a vigil following the crash. Ulysses Docarmo, of Litchfield said, "Me and my mom were devastated so we went to go basically say sorry to the family and we thought it would be nice if we went out to buy some flowers."
Thomas Graveline was a talented baseball and hockey player and self-taught musician. Matthew Rousseau played basketball, loved the Cavaliers and LeBron James and was a volunteer firefighter.
Some of the teens were wearing their seatbelts, others were not. The driver's airbag also did not activate. In addition to negligent homicide, Brocar also faces several traffic related charges. The investigation determined drugs and alcohol did NOT play a role.