Connecticut Woman Arrested, Charged For 2023 Hit-and-run Death of Indian Student
- Priyanshu Agwal, 23, a graduate student at the University of New Haven, sustained two fractured femurs, internal abdominal injuries and suspected head and spinal trauma, after he was hit by a SUV driven by Jill Augelli.
A 41-year-old Connecticut woman has been arrested and charged for the 2023 hit-and-run death of an Indian student. Priyanshu Agwal, 23, a graduate student at the University of New Haven, was riding an electric scooter on Oct. 18, 2023 around 11 p.m., when he was hit by a SUV driven by Jill Augelli of Naugatuck. The young international student from Deoli in Rajasthan, who was majoring in business analytics, was planning to graduate this spring, according to the university website. He came to the U.S. in 2022, and worked as a business analyst intern with Caliber IT Solutions Inc. for the past year, the university website said. His degree was handed posthumously during the Spring Commencement.
Agwal sustained two fractured femurs, internal abdominal injuries and suspected head and spinal trauma in the accident, The New Haven Register reported, citing documents presented to the court on Dec. 3, when Augelli made her first appearance. She was arrested on Nov. 18. She is charged with evading responsibility resulting in death, and is being held on $100,000 bond. The next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 21.
While it took 13 months for police to arrest her, they had “identified her Nissan Rogue as the vehicle allegedly involved in the crash, within just a few hours of the collision based on street camera footage,” The New Haven Register reported, citing court records. “Cell phone data, a series of street cameras and DNA helped police put together the case against her, and finally arrest her,” the publication added.
Court documents also included an Oct. 27 autopsy report by the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner that noted that Agwal died from “complications of blunt injuries of head, torso and extremities,” The New Haven Register report added.
Details regarding the Oct. 18, 2023 accident were also included in the documents. As reported by The New Haven Register, a witness told police at the time that Augelli’s SUV “slowed down near the Mobil gas station and then continued west.” The witness also told police Augelli “did not see Agwal, who was headed east as he rode an electric scooter, stop at a red light at the intersection.”
In attendance at the Dec. 3 hearing was Priyanshu Agwal’s brother, Aman. He was accompanied by his two uncles, including Rod Patel, who owns the Regal Inn in New Haven, near where the accident occurred, The New Haven Register said. Aman Agwal, graduated with an MBA from UNH in May 2023, now works for a tech company in Idaho. He told the police that his brother had spent time at the motel prior to the accident, and his mother and brother had joined him there for dinner.
Local news reported that Aman was also seen at a press conference on Dec. 2, a day before the court hearing, along with Police Chief Karl Jacobson and Mayor Justin Elicker. Aman Agwal said he still misses his late brother every day — and still has frequent thoughts about him.
While Aman can’t physically ever be with his deceased brother, they can see the person who received Priyanshu’s heart. Mayor Elicker disclosed at the press conference that his family agreed to donate the heart to try to save someone else, “Now, it is now beating in someone else’s body,” he said.
A few days after the fatal accident, the university held a remembrance event to honor Agwal’s memory. Several friends and professors described him as “ a successful student who was well-respected by his classmates,” according to the university website. Atithi Pawar recalled how the brothers had always gone to different schools — “until they both became Chargers” — name for the the athletic teams that represent the university. “Everyone said that two Agwals in one school was too much,”said said, adding that “Priyanshu had strong personality from the start. He dreamed big, and he loved it here.”
Another friend, Surabhi Shreekant Nagraj, president of the University’s Indian Student Council, said Agwal was “an outstanding student and friend.” Rishav Kant told the gathering that Agwal’s his friends “will continue to remember him and to celebrate” the life Agwal lived. “It feels like Priyanshu is always there for us,” he said. “When our friends meet, we’ll get a beer for him and celebrate the beautiful life called Priyanshu.”