NORTH HAVEN — The man state police identified as the wrong-way driver in the Oct. 16 crash on Interstate 91 that killed University of New Haven senior Ryan O’Shea had been deported from the United States twice, federal officials said Friday.
In a post on X on Friday, Oct. 30, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Guillermo Carmona-Lopez, 31, of Bridgeport, is from Mexico, had been deported twice and had no standing to be in the country. The department called O’Shea’s death “a completely avoidable tragedy.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement posted a similar account earlier Friday, calling the death “tragic and preventable.” ICE said Carmona-Lopez had been arrested by the Border Patrol after crossing the border, removed, arrested again after returning and ordered removed, and that he later reentered the country “at an unknown time and place.”
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized sanctuary policies in video remarks the department shared Friday evening and again Saturday morning. In the Friday clip, Mullin said such policies, “even in Connecticut under Governor Lamont,” allow “a safe haven for criminal activity.”
Gov. Ned Lamont, in a statement the Connecticut Centinal reported Friday, said: “Ryan O’Shea’s life was taken too soon. He had so much ahead of him, including his dreams of joining law enforcement. No family or community should have to endure a shattering loss like this, and my heart is with Ryan’s parents, family, friends, teammates, and everyone at the University of New Haven who loved him.” The statement did not address Carmona-Lopez’s immigration status. A response from Lamont’s office to Mullin’s remarks wasn’t immediately available.
What state police have said
According to the state police accident summary, a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Carmona-Lopez was heading north in the southbound lanes of I-91 near Exit 9 at about 11:43 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16, when it hit O’Shea’s 2018 Honda Accord head-on in the left lane. Two other vehicles, a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a GMC Terrain, then struck the Accord. O’Shea, 21, of Stony Point, N.Y., was pronounced dead at the scene. Three other people were treated for minor injuries.
State police have not announced any charges, and the crash remains under investigation, with the department’s Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad assisting. The federal posts did not say whether immigration authorities have taken any action in the case.
State police are asking anyone who drove through the area that night, especially drivers with dash cameras, to contact Trooper Patrick Miko (#1353) at Troop I in Bethany, 203-393-4200 or Patrick.Miko@ct.gov.
Remembering Ryan O’Shea
O’Shea was a criminal justice major with a concentration in police science and a senior captain of the university’s men’s ice hockey club team, the University of New Haven said. He interned last summer with the New York City Police Department, where he hoped to start his career as a police officer. “Ryan wanted to go into public service in order to help others,” his academic adviser, Lorenzo Boyd, said in the university’s tribute.
Earlier coverage
- Wrong-way driver on I-91 South in North Haven causes fatal crash late Friday, state police say (Oct. 17)
- After Friday’s Deadly I-91 Crash, a Look at North Haven’s Five Wrong-Way Driver Alarms (Oct. 19)
- University of New Haven Mourns Ryan O’Shea (Oct. 20)
- Services Set for Ryan O’Shea (Oct. 22)
Sources: Department of Homeland Security posts on X, Oct. 30 (1, 2) and Oct. 31 (3), 2026; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement post on X, Oct. 30, 2026; Connecticut State Police accident information summary, Oct. 17, 2026; University of New Haven, Oct. 19, 2026; Connecticut Centinal, Oct. 30, 2026.
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