The Seymour Police Department has officially opened an internal affairs investigation into a car crash that claimed the life of 15-year-old Oxford boy Brandon Giordano on March 9.
The department has 60 days to complete its investigation, which will be led by Lt. Paul Satkowski.
The announcement comes weeks after Eric Ramirez, 20, of 3 Wood Road, Oxford, was charged by state police with misconduct with a motor vehicle, reckless driving, engaging police in pursuit and two driving infractions in relation to the crash. He was driving a 2000 Ford Mustang on the night of March 9 and refused to pull over for Seymour Police Officer Anthony Renaldi, who said he tried to stop the driver because the car had illegal neon lights on its undercarriage, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
In that report, Renaldi said he chased the Mustang briefly before breaking off he pursuit due to the high rate of speed in which Ramirez was driving. Renaldi said he later came in contact with a state police officer near the Oxford-Seymour line and explained the situation. Renaldi and the trooper drove off to look for the vehicle and quickly came upon it laying upside down in front of a building at 43 Old State Road No. 67.
Following the crash, police estimated that the car had reached 91 mph at one point during the chase; it eventually struck an embankment on a turn on Old State Road No. 67 at a rate of 61 mph, twice the speed limit in that area. The car, carrying three teens, flew some 59 feet and hit a building head on before landing upside down, trapping all three teens in the car and killing Giordano, the backseat passenger, on impact. Ramirez was seriously injured but survived; Giordano was pronounced dead on the scene.
The Seymour Police Department has said the case will be reviewed "to determine if any department policies or procedures have been violated with regards to the action of the Seymour Police Officer."
