Solomon Valentine, 42, of Connecticut, has been sentenced to 11½ years in prison after pleading no contest to two counts of first‑degree manslaughter and related charges tied to a deadly March 2023 crash that killed 24‑year‑old Chelsy Torres and her 4‑year‑old nephew Noah Rodriguez.
What led to the crash
Valentine was driving about 74 miles per hour on a city street in Bridgeport when he slammed into the vehicle carrying Torres, her sister Ashley Aquino, and Aquino’s two sons, Noah (4) and Noel (2). The family’s car was stopped at a red light; prosecutors said Valentine was accelerating “as if it was his own personal racetrack,” not slowing for other drivers.
Torres died at the scene, and Noah was airlifted to the hospital but died days later from his injuries. Aquino and Noel were both injured but survived.
Aftermath and sentencing
Aquino described the lasting trauma of explaining to her 5‑year‑old son that the urn in their living room is his brother, and said she lost “the two most important people in my life.” Her sister Destiny Agramonte started a GoFundMe to help care for Torres’s infant daughter, calling the baby “part of her” and “what we have left.”
Valentine, who was also injured in the crash, left the hospital against medical advice; his blood tested positive for PCP and cannabis. He was arrested about eight months later and, at sentencing, read a statement apologizing to the victims’ family.
