BBQ sauce left at scene helps crack New Haven fatal hit-and-run case Barbecue sauce left at scene helps crack the case

Roger Sullivan Roger Sullivan Photo: Courtesy New Haven Police Department Photo: Courtesy New Haven Police Department Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close BBQ sauce left at scene helps crack New Haven fatal hit-and-run case 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN >> Police arrested a 22-year-old city man Wednesday in the death of a motorcycle rider who was killed Oct. 8, 2016, at the intersection of Whalley and Osborn avenues, police said.

Roger Sullivan Jr., of New Haven, was arrested in connection with the hit-and-run accident.

The 31-year-old motorcycle rider, Garry Gulledge of Oakville, had performed a slow wheel-stand, or “wheelie,” just prior to the crash and was traveling at about 47 mph at the time of the crash, according to police spokesman Officer David Hartman.

Gulledge was hit by a Honda Acura MDX driven by Sullivan, Hartman said. Sullivan was making a left turn from Whalley onto Osborn. Witnesses saw the silver SUV flee at high speed after the collision, the release said.

A coordinated police investigation traced a plastic rocker panel at the scene to the make of the vehicle, Hartman said, and a discarded cup and barbecue sauce container led officers to study the surveillance footage from a fast food restaurant on Whalley. When they saw the silver Acura SUV on the video, they noted what the occupants had purchased, which matched the discarded fast food containers at the crash scene, the release said. Officers also saw that the occupants paid with a credit card, Hartman said. Police then got a warrant to see receipts and transaction information to determine whose credit card was used. The cardholder was a woman from Clinton Avenue in New Haven and she identified herself to police as Sullivan’s girlfriend and a passenger in the Acura, the release said.

Sullivan and his girlfriend told police they had felt a thump but didn’t realize they had struck anyone, the release said. They said that when they found out, they decided to go to the police and tell their story, but officers found them before they had the chance, the release said. Sullivan later said he knew the crash was significant but panicked, and that’s why he fled, the release said. He maintained he did not see what it was he had hit.

A mechanic’s examination of Sullivan’s vehicle found no malfunctions, police said.

Sullivan is charged with felony evading, negligent homicide and making an improper turn.