CT Department of Correction employee charged with murder in fatal road rage shooting
A Connecticut Department of Correction employee has been arrested and charged with murder following a deadly shooting during a road rage incident in Meriden earlier this month.
William Lucky Jr., 32, of North Haven, along with his attorney, turned himself in to Connecticut State Police Troop I in Bethany on Tuesday on an active arrest warrant, according to the Connecticut State Police.
The DOC placed Lucky on administrative leave with pay last Friday, according to a DOC spokesperson.
Early Thursday, a DOC spokesperson said Lucky, who works at the New Haven Correctional Center, will remain on leave pending investigations by the DOC and the Connecticut State Police. He has been employed with the DOC since December 2018.
According to state police, troopers on Jan. 14 responded to Interstate 691, in the area of Exit 2A, after receiving multiple calls around 8 p.m. reporting a shooting incident.
State police said troopers located 49-year-old Scott Kracke of Middlefield lying on the right shoulder of I-691 with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken in an ambulance to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to state police.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said Tuesday that autopsy results for Kracke are “still pending.”
Troopers learned that a shooting had occurred during a road rage incident. Witnesses at the scene said prior to the shooting, Kracke was involved in a road rage incident with a dark colored sedan driven by an unknown man later identified as Lucky, state police said.
Kracke and Lucky allegedly got out of their vehicle and confronted each other, according to state police. According to witnesses, Lucky allegedly took out a firearm and began shooting Kracke at close range.
Lucky reportedly fled the scene and later arrived at the Hamden Police Department to report the incident, state police said.
A GoFundMe started in the wake of Kracke’s death said he was the sole provider of his 16-year-old son. As of Tuesday, the fundraiser for funeral expenses and the teen had raised just under $22,000, surpassing its $15,000 goal.
Kracke and his son were avid fans of the Buffalo Bills and enjoyed boating, fishing and going on camping trips together, the GoFundMe said.
According to an obituary, Kracke was born in New York before relocating to Connecticut. He was the owner of Scott’s Home Improvement, LLC., and was engaged to be married at the time of his death, the obituary said.
Lucky is being held on a $2.5 million court-set cash bond at Hartford Correctional, state police said. He is schedule to appear in court in Meriden on Wednesday.