The 23-year-old driver of a jeep that plunged into the icy waters of the Sound off Stony Creek in March was arrested today and charged with drunk driving and manslaughter in the drowning death of his half-brother.
Branford police said that Daniel Fleischauer (pictured) of 13 Arthur Court, North Branford, turned himself in today. He was charged with the drowning death of Mark Albo Sr., who was a passenger in his car. The two had been seen drinking at the Chowder Pot, a restaurant not far from Stony Creek. Fleischauer managed to escape into the icy water. Albo did not.
Fleischauer was also charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. His blood alcohol content at or around the time of the accident was 0.176 or double the 0.08 legal limit, according to the police. He was also charged with operating a car with a suspended license. Albo 34, was a welder. He was employed in Milford and lived at Seaview Terrace, in Guilford.
The felony arrest came more than two months after the jeep plunged off a private boat launch ramp in a multi-house compound belonging to Francine Farkas Sears. She lives off the tip of Flying Point Road in Stony Creek. The accident occurred in the early hours of the morning. Fleischauer was driving with a suspended license, Lt. Geoffrey Morgan said.
Fleischauer, who just turned 23, was being held on a $250,000 bond in Branford detention, pending arraignment in New Haven State Superior Court tomorrow.
The brothers somehow took Flying Point Road and wound up in the compound. The police said they now believe that an inebriated Fleischauer attempted to back up onto the boat ramp and instead wound up in icy waters at high tide.
Immediately after the drowning, police attempted to talk with Fleischauer but he was not coherent, they said. Nor, police said, were they able to question him at the hospital afterwards.
Police said that within days Fleischauer hired an attorney and would not speak to them. Meanwhile police began an inquiry, first requesting Albo’s autopsy report. Lt. Morgan said the autopsy report confirmed that Albo died as a result of drowning.
Morgan also said the police sought Fleischauer’s medical records, specifically his blood tests, in order to determine if he had alcohol in his body. This is standard procedure in fatal accidents. After the plunge, Fleishcaher was treated for hypothermia at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Morgan said it took time to get the results because a warrant was necessary.
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He doesn't look very remorseful in those photos.