Driver Arrested After Fatal Hit & Run

When Aman Agwal sleeps, his brother Priyanshu visits him in his dreams. Sometimes, he rides a scooter, the exact one that he was riding when he was struck and killed by a car — during a hit and run that, a year later, has resulted in an arrest.

“Sometimes he comes in my dream, and he just plays on his scooter,” Aman said during a Monday morning press conference at police headquarters. ​“I wish I could do something.”

Over a year of investigation after Priyanshu’s death, the driver of the car, a 41-year-old woman from Naugatuck, was arrested by the New Haven Police Department (NHPD) on Nov. 18. She has been charged with evading responsibility in a death, has not yet entered a plea, and is being held on a $100,000 bond. 

Alongside Aman and his uncle Ron Patel, Monday’s press conference — which was held on the third floor of 1 Union Ave. — was joined by Mayor Justin Elicker, Police Chief Karl Jacobsen, and the NHPD command staff.

At the time of his death last October, Priyanshu was just a few months shy of graduating from the University of New Haven with a masters degree in business analytics. Aman had felt lonely as he finished his own degree at UNH, and was grateful that Priyanshu came to the United States from India in August 2021 to join him at the West Haven university.

“I miss him every day,” Aman said on Monday, reminiscing on the streets of downtown New Haven where he would do everything from working and studying to partying at clubs with his brother.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit in this case, which was issued on Nov. 15 and written by Officer Ashley Kiley, 23-year-old Priyanshu Agwal was riding his electric scooter eastbound on Whalley Avenue near the intersection with Amity Road at 11 p.m. on Oct. 18, 2023. 

Witness testimony and surveillance video footage detailed Agwal running a red light before being struck by a light-colored SUV. Camera footage at a Mobil gas station at 1474 Whalley revealed the SUV dragging the scooter against the concrete, creating bright sparks, before being dislodged and left behind.

Early the next morning, an individual contacted the Naugatuck Police Department out of concern for her sister, who had taken an excess of sleeping pills. The individual’s sister, who was subsequently arrested for striking Agwal, received proper medical attention.

Agwal was transported to the Yale New Haven Hospital the night of the crash. He was pronounced deceased three days later, on Oct. 21.

An arrest warrant was secured to search the vehicle, which was registered to a residence in Naugatuck. Later, officers noticed the vehicle had sustained significant damage from a collision on the passenger side of the vehicle, in accordance with footage of the accident as well as witness testimony.

Forensic swabs of the car showed a match with Agwal’s DNA. Interviews and phone call tracing identified the driver as a 41-year-old Naugutuck resident. Jacobson noted that the investigation took so long in part due to the driver’s unwillingness to talk, and credited the department’s efforts as well as the phone call tracing for being able to identify the driver. 

Aman shared that Priyanshu had gone to the Regal Inn on 1605 Whalley, owned by Patel, the day before his death. On Oct. 18, Aman and his mother went to the Regal Inn and had dinner with Priyanshu. The two left early in the night, with Priyanshu staying to spend time with his friends. At around 11 p.m., he left to go back to his family’s house. Six minutes later, the driver’s car struck him.

Mayor Elicker shared that Priyanshu’s heart was donated and is now beating in another body. This detail comes back up in Aman’s sleep, with his brother asking in his dreams: “‘Why did you donate my heart? I could have been alive.’”

Elicker thanked the efforts of the police department for tracking down the driver and giving justice to Aman and his family. He then highlighted the efforts of the city to decrease traffic violence, noting the future installation of red light cameras.

“I want to underscore, do not leave the scene of the crash,” Elicker said. ​“We will track you down and we will hold you accountable and you will be arrested.”