Two Connecticut Motorcyclists Killed in Separate Crashes This Weekend

Fairfield: I-95 South

Jose Bautista Soto, 37, was riding his motorcycle just after 10:30 PM Sunday near exit 22 on I-95 South when he struck the back of a car and was thrown from the bike as it crashed onto its side. He was taken to Bridgeport Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Both vehicles were towed, and the highway was closed for roughly four hours while the state police accident reconstruction team processed the scene. 

Authorities have not released details on the condition of the other driver or any passengers, and the crash remains under investigation.

Manchester: I-384 East

Two nights earlier, around 10:23 PM Friday, a motorcycle carrying driver Dante Avant Coleman, 22, and passenger Sariah Isabelle Miranda, 21, both of Manchester, collided with a Chevrolet Equinox and a BMW near the Exit 1B on-ramp of I-384 East. Coleman and Miranda were both thrown from the bike, and as they slid across the highway, Miranda was struck by another vehicle. She was rushed to Manchester Hospital in a private vehicle and later died from her injuries. Coleman sustained only minor injuries. Neither the Equinox nor the BMW driver was hurt. 

State police have not said whether speed or any other factor contributed, and they're asking any witnesses, particularly those with dashcam footage of the area at the time, to contact TFC John Wilson at john.wilson@ct.gov.

What These Two Crashes Have in Common

Beyond the obvious, both crashes share a mechanism that matters for anyone who rides: in each case, the fatal injury occurred not from the initial impact alone but from what happened afterward, being thrown from the motorcycle and left exposed on an active highway. Miranda's death, in particular, illustrates one of the most dangerous phases of any motorcycle crash: the moment a rider or passenger is separated from the bike and left sliding or lying on the road, vulnerable to being struck by a vehicle that had no time to react.

What This Means Legally

In both cases, liability will hinge on details investigators haven't yet released: what caused Bautista Soto's motorcycle to strike the car ahead of it, and what caused the initial collision between Coleman's motorcycle and the two other vehicles in Manchester. Multi-vehicle crashes like the Manchester incident often involve layered liability, where the driver who caused the initial collision may bear primary responsibility even for a secondary impact, like the one that killed Miranda, if that second impact was a foreseeable consequence of the first.

For families of motorcyclists killed in crashes involving other vehicles, Connecticut's wrongful death statute allows for a claim regardless of whether criminal charges are filed. Given that neither case has yet produced a public determination of fault, the investigations' findings, including any accident reconstruction analysis, toxicology results, or witness statements, will be central to establishing liability once they're released.

Our condolences go out to the families of Jose Bautista Soto and Sariah Isabelle Miranda.

If you've lost a loved one in a motorcycle crash, the independent attorneys we connect you with can help you understand your legal options as these investigations continue.

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