Dominique Dalessio, 20, of Bethlehem, died after a head-on car crash in Waterbury in April 2020. Her family recently won a $15.2 million verdict against Jamall Smith of Waterbury after a jury found Smith’s recklessness caused the fatal accident, according to court records.
Courtesy of Deborah Dalessio
Jamall Smith of Waterbury received a suspended sentence on charges connected to a car crash in Waterbury in 2020 that killed Dominique Dalessio of Bethlehem.
Courtesy of the Waterbury Police Department
WATERBURY — When state Superior Court Judge Corinne L. Klatt gave Jamall Smith a suspended sentence last year in connection with a Waterbury car crash that killed a Bethlehem woman, she said Smith “was not an evil individual.”
“He did not walk out the door intending to harm anyone,” Klatt said. “It was not reckless behavior.”
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On Tuesday, however, a jury in state Superior Court in Waterbury found that Smith, of Waterbury, “acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others” in the death of 20-year-old Dominique Dalessio, awarding her family $15.2 million, court records show.
On April 22, 2020 at about 10:30 p.m., Waterbury police said Smith’s BMW crossed the center line in the 2300 block of East Main Street, slamming head-on into a Honda Accord. Dalessio, a passenger in the Honda, never regained consciousness and died several days later, police said at the time.
At his criminal trial last year, Smith, age 31 at the time, was found guilty of misconduct with a motor vehicle, but acquitted of more serious charges, including second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle and operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
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The lawsuit filed by Dominique’s mother, Deborah Dalessio, in April 2022 said Smith’s negligence and carelessness caused the fatal accident. The complaint said he was speeding, under the influence of alcohol or drugs or both and inattentive. Dominique Dalessio planned to become a civil rights attorney, her family said at Smith’s sentencing, but her capacity to earn wages, according to the lawsuit, was destroyed in the crash.
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The verdict form in the civil case shows that while the jury found Smith’s reckless conduct caused Dalessio’s death, the panel checked “No” on questions of whether he was travelling unreasonably fast and operating under the influence. The jury also checked the box saying the plaintiff was entitled to double or triple damages.
An attorney for Smith could not be reached immediately Sunday. His attorney in the criminal case, Jerry Attanasio, urged the judge not to send his client to prison, describing Smith as a hardworking man of character whose conduct fell short of criminal recklessness.
“Mr. Smith swerved his motor vehicle to avoid hitting someone or something and ended up hitting another vehicle,” Attanasio said. “He made an evasive maneuver to avoid one object and resulted in him hitting another. The level of criminal negligence here is minimal.”
Smith also apologized in court to the Dalessio family
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“This was the greatest mistake of my life,” he said.
Since her daughter’s death, Deborah Dalessio said at Smith’s sentencing, the family dealt with the pain by keeping Dominique’s memory alive with memorial gardens, scholarships and donations to animal shelters. She described her daughter as “vivacious” and a deeply caring and faithful person.
Dominique Dalessio attended Central Connecticut State University and Naugatuck Valley Community College. At the time of the crash, she had just landed summer internships at local law firms and had been accepted into an online Harvard University course, Deborah Dalessio said at Smith’s sentencing.
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Includes previous reporting by Bruno Matarazzo Jr.