Connecticut Driver Who Killed a 4-Year-Old Was Ticketed for Phone Use a Month Later

A Repeat Offender Behind the Wheel

One of the most disturbing stories gripping Connecticut this week centers on a Manchester man accused of killing a 4-year-old girl while distracted behind the wheel — and what investigators found out about his driving record afterward. Tarequl Ambia, accused of using his phone and speeding before hitting and killing a child in Manchester, appeared in court on September 4. Investigators found it was not the first time he had been in trouble for distracted driving.

The fatal crash occurred on June 10, 2026, at 375 East Center Street at 4:30 a.m. Ambia, 49, of Manchester, was charged with misconduct with a motor vehicle, reckless driving, operation of a motor vehicle while using a hand-held telephone or mobile electronic device as a third offense, failure to obey a traffic control signal, and failure to drive right. The charges paint a picture of someone who had been warned repeatedly — and kept driving dangerously anyway.

Police gave Ambia a $625 ticket for using his phone while driving for a different incident just one month after the fatal crash, on July 15, while driving in Manchester. Records show he had received tickets from police in 2023 and 2025 for using a handheld phone while driving, and also received a speeding ticket in 2023. The pattern is as clear as it is chilling.

A Little Girl's Final Hours

Surveillance video obtained by police showed 4-year-old Akari Cortes leaving her home shortly after 4:14 a.m. on June 10. She was seen walking down the driveway and eventually running through the neighborhood before making her way toward East Center Street. The warrant says Akari was captured on several cameras as she moved through the area for about 15 minutes.

Shortly before the collision, she was seen running along East Center Street and approaching a nearby home, where she rang the doorbell before returning toward the road. As part of the investigation, Akari's parents, Taylor Biron, 28, and Nathael Cortes, 26, both of Manchester, were also arrested and charged with risk of injury to children. Biron and Cortes each posted a $25,000 bond and are scheduled to appear at Manchester Superior Court on September 9, 2026.

A Courtroom Pivot and a Separate Connecticut Bombshell

Friday's court hearing for Ambia lasted less than two minutes. Prosecutors announced the case was being moved to Hartford. It was a brief but consequential moment — the kind that signals a case is escalating in seriousness. Meanwhile, another major Connecticut legal story also reached a pivotal moment on September 4.

Sixteen months after Kimberly Sullivan was charged with holding her stepson captive for 20 years, the state made its first plea offer — and her attorney said she would reject it. On a Blake Street property in Waterbury, a 20-plus-year nightmare allegedly came to an end when a man police say was held captive set his house ablaze with printer paper, hand sanitizer and a lighter. That man, now in his early thirties and identified only as "S" in court documents, was rescued weighing just 68 pounds with a body mass index of 11 — a level doctors say is life-threatening.

Sullivan declined two plea deals offered in court. The plea deal offered by the judge would have included a 30-year sentence, suspended after 10 years behind bars. The State of Connecticut also offered a deal that would have included 30 years in prison, suspended after 20 years served with five years probation. Sullivan has now rejected both offers and will take her case to a jury.

What Comes Next

Both cases expose deep cracks in systems meant to protect the vulnerable — one a child allowed to wander into traffic in the early morning hours, the other a young man allegedly hidden from the world for two decades. In Connecticut, drivers can face criminal charges for distracted driving in a work zone, and can also be charged with reckless driving if using a phone contributed to an injury or death. Otherwise, fines range from $200 for a first offense to $625 for three or more. Critics will likely argue those penalties were never steep enough to stop someone like Ambia.

As Ambia's case moves to Hartford and Sullivan's heads toward trial, Connecticut residents are left grappling with uncomfortable questions about accountability — for dangerous drivers, for caregivers, and for institutions that may have missed warning signs along the way. Both cases are far from over, and the courtroom battles ahead will be closely watched across the state.