Community mourns teen's sudden death

NORTH HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- Sixteen-year-old Connor Kusmit was reportedly biking home from Walgreens when he was hit and killed by a car on Clintonville Road in North Haven.

It happened around 5 p.m. Wednesday night. Many residents were home and heard it the crash.

"The car screeching and then just the impact," recalled Chris Sepulveda.

"I was in my bed and my boyfriend heard a screech and a boom and he looked out the window and said 'Some kid got hit,' so I jumped out of my bed and ran across the street and he was just laying on the ground," said Kayla Charpentier.

Charpentier and others tried to help the 16-year-old, but it was too late.

"Just unconscious and bleeding and everything. It was awful," she said.

The driver of the car, she says, was hysterical.

"It was just horrible I felt so bad for her. She said there was nothing she could do. She tried to stop and she couldn't stop," Charpentier said. "The bike was in half so one part was over there and the other part was over there, so he was pretty far from his bike."

The snacks Connor bought at the store remained at the scene Thursday, right by where a rose was left in memory of the boy who had just started his junior year of high school.  

"My little cousin goes to school with him," Charpentier said. "Actually, yesterday he sat next to him in class."

"I heard it. I just thought it was a regular car accident," said Sepulveda. "I didn't think it was a kid getting hit by a car and passing away. So it's an eye opener. Hopefully the kids will be more careful."

Connor was an honor-role student who was involved in many clubs and activities. The principal at North Haven High School tells News 8 Connor "was a bright, talented young man who was well-liked."

There are grief counselors on hand for both students and teachers. The principal says they'll remain at the school as long as they are needed during this difficult time.