It has almost been a month since a two-car collision on Jefferson Street on Friday, Sept. 29 seriously injured five Sacred Heart University students and one Uber driver.
Four female students were in an Uber going westbound on Jefferson Street, when an eastbound car, driven by a male student, hit a curb, lost control and collided with the Uber. The collision left the eastbound car on its roof, according to Fairfield police. The five students and the Uber driver were all transported to the area hospitals with critical injuries.
On Tuesday, Oct. 24 after an extensive investigation, the Fairfield Police Crash Reconstruction team determined that Tyler Delk, the male Sacred Heart student driving the eastbound car, was exceeding 85 mph when the collision occurred, according to a police report. Delk, 19, was also driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision, determined to be 10 times the legal limit for those under the age of 21, which is .02% in Connecticut.
Authorities reported that Delk was arrested and charged at St. Vincent’s Hospital with driving under the influence, reckless driving, assault with a motor vehicle, and reckless endangerment. Delk was released on a $250,000 court-set bond and will appear in court when he is medically cleared to do so.
Source: Don Hamerman, Sacred Heart University
According to Dean of Students Denise Tiberio, “Cayna Mangine has been back on campus and attending classes for a couple of weeks now. Amanda Hanlon is meeting with her doctors soon and hoping they will release her to return to campus. Olivia Graham and Olivia Marini are both rehabilitating near their homes in New York and New Jersey. Tyler Delk is still in the hospital.”
Stefany Bailon, daughter of the Uber driver, Otto Bailon, reported in an update on GoFundMe that he was discharged from the hospital on Friday, Oct. 13.
“His physical therapy has been going great, he’s been walking around and moving as directed, slowly but surely he’s regaining his strength and mobility,” Bailon wrote.
As of press time, the most recent update for Delk came from his aunt, Nichole Nicholls, via GoFundMe on Oct. 11. In this, she reported that he was in critical but stable condition in the ICU.
“He is still on key life support including breathing tubes, feeding tubes, and continual medication for sedation, pain, injury, infection, etc.,” Nicholls wrote. “He has a traumatic brain injury which is by far the biggest and scariest unknown right now.”
Olivia Graham’s family also created a GoFundMe, with an update from her mom on Oct. 14 saying she was “moving to an Acute Rehab in [her] home state for a while to regain some of the life functions she has lost due to this tragic accident” and that she is “determined to be up and living her happy life as it once was.”
