Four Killed in Weekend Crashes

Two people were killed and one person was arrested, accused of drunken-driving, in a crash in Waterford early Sunday morning.

Cars driven by Joseph Donohue, 27, of Norwich, and Joshua Lecce, 23, of Salem, crashed at the intersection of Old Norwich Road and Route 32 in the Quaker Hill Section of Waterford.

Lecce and Danielle Nicholson, 21, of Waterford, died of injuries sustained during the crash, police said. Nicholson was in the back seat of the car Lecce was driving, according to police. Two other passengers were taken to a hospital for treatment.

Donohue was arrested, charged with DUI and taken to Lawrence and Memorial Hospital for treatment.

He is in police custody on a $500,000 cash/surety bond, pending his arraignment in New London Superior Court.

Lucas Ananias died from injuries he suffered when the car he was riding in hit a tree Monday morning, according to State Police.

Ananias was the front seat passenger of a 1992 Acura Integra that went off Rt. 8 North in Trumbull at 1:21 a.m. Monday, traveled into the grass median and struck a tree, police said. The car split in half and was towed from the scene. His age and hometown have not been provided.

The driver is in critical but stable condition at St. Vincent’s Medical Center and another passenger has been discharged.

Matthew Picciuto, 18, was killed over the weekend when he lost control of his car after speeding past another driver on Totoket Road in North Branford Saturday afternoon, police said.

Two other people in the car were rushed to the hospital with injuries.
   
Picciuto planned to attend Southern Connecticut State University next fall, according to the New Haven Register.   
 
Picciuto's mother, Lynn Riordan, is planning a memorial walk, “Slow Down for Matthew Picciuto.” It is tentatively set for June 27 and will raise money for a scholarship in her son’s honor, the Register reports.

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