A New Haven police vehicle in a file photo. The name of a 16-year-old who died Jan. 4, 2026, along with the 13-year-old driver after the stolen car they were in crashed in New Haven has been confirmed. 
NEW HAVEN — Connecticut's child welfare agency has confirmed the name of the teenage passenger who was killed in New Haven last weekend when the stolen car she was in crashed into a tree after fleeing police. 
The 16-year-old passenger who was killed was Destiny Ellis, state Department of Children and Families spokesperson Ken Mysogland confirmed Friday morning. She had been living at a home run by a nonprofit organization that is funded by DCF, he said.
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Susan I. Hamilton, DCF's interim commissioner, said the agency was making arrangements to provide support for those who knew the girl.
"We are just learning of the tragic death of a youth in our care who suffered fatal injuries as a result of a motor vehicle accident,” she said in a written statement. “Our hearts are extended to the family, friends, Attorney, community partners, and the DCF staff who worked so closely with her for the traumatic loss they are now experiencing.”
The 13-year-old driver, who also was killed in the crash, has been identified as Marshall Curry. He attended Wexler-Grant Community School, according to Justin Harmon, a New Haven public schools spokesperson.
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Curry was behind the wheel of the stolen Hyundai Elantra when the car crashed into a tree at Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel synagogue along Whalley Avenue, according to Connecticut State Police. The crash happened after a New Haven officer chased the car following an incident in which it almost struck a patrol car, state police said.
It was not clear whether police had stopped the pursuit prior to the crash.
The Connecticut State Police took over the investigation into the crash at the request of the New Haven Police Department and the state's attorney's office, the agency said.
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Acting New Haven Police Chief David Zannelli said at a news conference Wednesday that the fact the car was stolen was not the reason for the chase. Rather, he said, it’s because “the vehicle intentionally swerved at the officers and continued to swerve within the lane for westbound traffic.”
Connecticut has a uniform pursuit policy for police which requires them to have reasonable suspicion a driver has committed, or is trying to commit, a crime of violence, or use of physical force, before starting a chase. Property crimes, such as stolen cars, “shall not be justification to engage in a pursuit of another vehicle, absent articulable exigent circumstances,” according to the 9-page policy, which was updated in 2019.
A CT Insider investigation in 2024 found that some departments have violated the policy. 
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Reporting by Staff Writer Peter Yankowski was used for this story.
Christine Dempsey is a breaking news reporter with Hearst Connecticut Media group. Christine is a veteran reporter with decades of experience at newspapers in Connecticut and New York, including The Bristol Press, the Journal Inquirer and The Hartford Courant. She has covered everything from town meetings and light features to breaking news. She has ridden in patrol cars and even bicycled with officers to better learn how police do their jobs. She has won awards for her crime stories, tales of heroic rescues and for chronicling the lives of people experiencing homelessness. She loves to tell a good narrative story.
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