Ronald Rogers

By Josh Lanier From Daily Voice

After crashing into a tree, a 39-year-old Connecticut man allegedly did not call for help for nearly an hour as his father-in-law died from his injuries, authorities announced on Thursday, Dec. 11.

Ronald Rogers, of Voluntown, is charged with manslaughter, cruelty to persons, and evading responsibility resulting in death in the Dec. 2024 crash in Griswold, Connecticut, State Police said.

The crash was reported around 1:45 a.m. Rogers told investigators he was attempting to avoid a deer when he lost control of his Honda Civic and went off Hell Hollow Road in Griswold, near the Stone Hill Road intersection, striking several rocks and a tree, according to a police report. 

Rogers was able to get out of the wrecked vehicle, but 60-year-old Roger Denton was trapped inside.

Denton, of Warwick, Rhode Island, suffered a severe head injury in the crash.

Cellphone data showed that Rogers did not call for emergency help for approximately 55 minutes. Instead, he texted his wife multiple times, begging for help. She was asleep and did not receive the messages until the morning, police said. 

"During this time, Ronald Rogers remained present at the collision scene, but took no action to summon medical care for Roger Denton. Instead, he engaged in texting activity," the trooper wrote.

Once firefighters arrived, they cut Denton from the car and rushed him to Backus Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead, police said.

Rogers was booked and held on a $75,000 bond, authorities said.