Teenager Arrested for Running Over Girlfriend with His Truck in Connecticut: Police
A teenager from Connecticut died after her boyfriend allegedly ran over her with his truck, police said.
State Police have accused Cooper Anderson Ouelette, 19, of running over his 17-year-old girlfriend, Sophie Ringquist, in Burlington, NBC Connecticut reported.
State Police further claimed that the suspect dragged the victim, dropped her off at home, and failed to contact 911 to inform about her condition, NBC Connecticut reported. The accused has been charged with manslaughter in the first degree and delivery of alcohol to a minor.
Ouelette surrendered to the police on July 12, and was released after posting a $50,000 bond, People reported.
On May 21, 2023, Ringquist's family brought her to the hospital for treatment and claimed that she had fallen out of her boyfriend’s Chevy pickup truck earlier that evening, WFSB reported. The victim later died of the injuries.
Before the accident, the victim and the suspect were attending a party in Terryville, Fox 61 reported. Ouelette allegedly drank alcohol at the party and also distributed it to others. The couple reportedly left the party together, in Ouelette’s truck.
Police claimed, that the suspect was driving erratically and at one point stopped the car at the side of a road, and began recording Ringquist, Fox 61 reported. In the clip, authorities allege, that Ringquist tried escaping from the car, but Ouelette accelerated, causing the victim to fall on the ground.
Ringquist apparently sent a text to someone, where she wrote, "I'm scared," Hartford Courant reported.
Authorities allegedly have evidence of Ringquist sending photos of her with a bloody nose and a mark on her face to an individual, People reported
Authorities believe that Ouelette carried Ringquist into his car and took her home, after which her family took over, People reported.
Initially, Ouelette claimed that Ringquist wanted to get out of the car to vomit and he stopped the vehicle before she fell out, Fox 61 reported.
Investigators believe that during the couple's ride back to Ringquist's home, the victim might have been crushed by one of the tires on the accuser's vehicle, Fox 61 reported.
As per Ringquist's obituary, she died on May 21, 2023. Her loved ones wrote in the obituary, "We will remember Sophie as a loving, hardworking, joyous, goofy, passionate, fierce, and compassionate young woman with a talent for putting into her writing what we all find so difficult to say aloud. She spent her free time at the gym, hanging out with friends, and during the summer teaching local kids how to swim. Sophie was on the path to graduating high school a semester early and began taking college classes while still attending Lewis Mills High School to get a head start on a future degree in construction management and to learn the business end of the hard work she performed weekly by her father, Scott’s side."
The victim's family in a statement thanked law enforcement for their work on the case, NBC Connecticut reported. "We implore anyone who has been a victim of or witness to domestic violence to stand up for the victim and report it to the police," the statement read, in part.