NEWPORT — A 49-year-old Connecticut man entered not guilty pleas to three felony charges including negligent homicide in connection with a December crash that killed a 25-year-old Sullivan County woman. 

Dylan Galland, 49, of East Windsor, Conn., listens during his arraignment in Claremont District Court on WebEx video from Sullivan County jail in Unity, N.H. on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in Claremont, N.H. Galland is accused of killing a 25-year-old Sullivan County woman in a drunk driving crash on Friday. JENNIFER HAUCK / Valley News

On Feb. 25, a Sullivan County Grand Jury indicted Dylan Galland, of East Windsor, Conn., on charges of DUI negligent homicide, DUI aggravated collision with serious injury and negligent homicide. 

On Monday, Galland entered not guilty pleas to the three charges and remains held in Sullivan County Jail in Unity without bail.

“It’s a tragic accident,” Richard Guerriero, Galland’s attorney, said in a phone interview with the Valley News. “We hope to resolve this matter in court in the near future.” 

The prosecutor in the case, Sullivan County Attorney Molly Lovell, did not return a voice message by deadline on Friday.   

The fatal crash occurred on Dec. 5 on Maple Street in Newport when Galland, driving a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, allegedly crossed the centerline, striking a Jeep Wrangler driven by Ashley Wendt, 25, of Washington, N.H., head-on. According to police, Wendt’s Jeep rolled over and she died at the scene.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found that Wendt died of “multiple blunt force injuries,” according to a Dec. 8 Newport Police news release. 

Reached by phone on Friday, Wendt’s mother, Deborah Wendt, declined to comment. 

The truck belongs to a friend of Galland’s who lives in Newport and with whom he was staying, according to the affidavit in the case.

The affidavit in support of the charges against Galland states that police observed Galland exhibiting signs of intoxication, including “watery eyes, slow, thick and slurred speech and strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person.”

Police found that Galland’s blood alcohol level at the time of the crash was .20, well above the legal limit of .08.

During his arraignment in Claremont District Court on Dec. 8, Lovell, arguing for Galland’s detention, noted that he was driving in the middle of the road and had exceeded the speed limit by 15 mph.

Galland’s estranged wife, Danielle Galland, told police in December that he has an alcohol addiction, two traumatic brain injuries and had recently attempted suicide.

If Galland is convicted, the charge of DUI negligent homicide carries a penalty of seven and a half to 15 years in prison and a $4,000 fine; both DUI aggravated collision with serious injury and negligent homicide carry penalties of three and a half to seven years in prison and $4,000 fines. 

Galland’s next court date is a dispositional conference scheduled for April 9 in Sullivan Superior Court in Newport to determine future steps in the case.