c/o Middletown Police Department

The Middletown Police Department (MPD) announced an arrest in the hit and run of former Bon Appétit employee Brooke Rich on Tuesday, March 31.

Middletown resident Jerod Wilson was charged on several counts, including manslaughter in the first degree, evading responsibility for a fatal motor vehicle accident, operating a motor vehicle without a license, and using a cell phone while operating a vehicle. 

On March 4, witnesses saw Rich crossing north in the crosswalk on Washington Street around 9 p.m., according to the MPD’s press release. Wilson’s vehicle was traveling west on Washington Street and did not stop for the red light at the intersection of High Street, where Rich was crossing with the right of way. Wilson allegedly struck Rich and continued driving west, according to police. 

Later that evening, Middletown detectives located the vehicle Wilson had been driving at his home, but no one answered the door after officers knocked several times, according to the MPD’s press release. The following day, Middletown officers spoke with Wilson, who said that he was not driving the vehicle that struck Rich on March 4, according to police.

Middletown detectives and officers in the traffic unit later obtained video that showed Wilson driving the vehicle several minutes before the accident occurred.

Wilson is set to appear in court on April 1, and is being held on a $500,000 bond. 

c/o Middletown Press

Rich worked for Bon Appétit at the University for over 13 years and was a long-time Middletown resident. A poster in her memory was put up in Wesleyan’s Usdan University Center, and a candlelight vigil was held five days after her death on Veterans Memorial Green. 

Following Rich’s death, her family started a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs, which raised more than $22,000. In the description, her children wrote, “Our mom, our queen, our everything best friend. Brooke Rich was a beautiful sassy power house.  She took nothing for granted and held nothing back. But she continued offering all of us everything she had. Our little brother just told me all he wishes is that she was still here and the only way anything close like that can still happen is by keeping her spirit and memory alive we appreciate everyone’s support and we know our queen would too.” 

Jane Herz can be reached at jherz@wesleyan.edu.