Durham Man Charged With Manslaughter, DUI in Crash that Killed Meriden 20-year-old

A Durham man and Middletown firefighter was charged Thursday with second-degree manslaughter in connection with in July that killed 20-year-old Alexander Martinez of Meriden and injured three.

Stephen Tyrseck, 36, of 9R Mountain Road, was arrested by Middletown police on a warrant after he turned himself in on Thursday afternoon.

He was charged with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, misconduct with a motor vehicle, negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, reckless driving, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and speeding.

He was initially held on a $100,000 bond but posted bond later in the day.

Tyrseck at the time of the crash was a firefighter in Middletown's South District Fire Department, according to the published reports. He was the sole occupant of the pickup truck, police said. Police said there were four people in the automobile.

One of the passengers was Martinez. He was killed when Tyrseck’s 2008 Ford F350 pickup collided with a car on South Main Street near the intersection of Highland Avenue in Middletown.

Martinez was pronounced dead at the scene after being ejected from the 2002 Honda Civic at about 2:30 a.m., according to police.

The Civic, operated by Jedidiah Roesler, 22, of Meriden, was traveling north on South Main, turned turn left onto Highland Avenue, when the front of the Ford hit the right side of the Honda.

The other three occupants of the Honda and driver of the Ford were taken to Hartford Hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

, a car enthusiast who who graduated from Platt High School in 2009. At the time of the accident, he had just transferred from from Gateway Community College in New Haven to Middlesex Community College in Middletown to study Business Management.

Friends held a car and bike show in Hubbard Park in August to help raise funds for Martinez's family.

Reached by phone Friday night, Mel Cabrera, who was dating Martinez at the time of his death said she was surprised by the news of the arrest.

"My jaw dropped," Cabrera said. "It's going on five months - I kinda thought if they were going to do something to (Tyrseck) they were going to do it right there," adding that she was excited by the news.