Driver charged in Manchester girl's death was ticketed again for cellphone use weeks later

MANCHESTER - A driver charged with using his cellphone when he hit and killed a 4-year-old girl in Manchester on June 10 was ticketed for the same offense about a month later, according to court records.

Police say Tarequl Ambia, 49, was using his phone, veering out of his lane and speeding just before hitting Akari Cortes at around 4:30 a.m. on East Center Street, according to an arrest warrant. 

Manchester police arrested Ambia on Aug. 7 and charged him with misconduct with a motor vehicle, a Class D felony; reckless driving; operation of a motor vehicle while using a hand-held telephone or mobile electronic device; failure to obey traffic control signal; and failure to drive to the right.

Manchester police ticketed Ambia on July 15 for using a mobile device while driving, his third offense, which carries a fine of $625, according to court records. He also was cited for for using a handheld phone while driving in July 2023 and in April 2025, both times in Manchester, and for speeding in Wallingford in September 2023, according to the warrant for his arrest in the fatal collision.

Neither Ambia nor his attorney could be reached immediately for comment on Sunday.

Police said the child was outside alone when the crash happened. Her parents, Taylor Ryane Biron, 28, and Nathael Cortes, 26, both of Manchester, are both charged with risk of injury to a child. Manchester police were called twice in June to reports of Akari being in the road, unsupervised, before her June 10 death, an arrest warrant said. The 4-year-old also had marijuana in her blood at the time she was killed, police said.

The state Department of Children and Families also is investigating the parents.

Ambia posted a $50,000 bond on the charges connected with the fatal collision and is due to appear in state Superior Court in Manchester on Sept. 29, according to court records.

Both Cortes and Biron posted bonds of $25,000 each and both are due in Superior Court in Hartford on Wednesday, court records show.

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This article originally published at Driver charged in Manchester girl's death was ticketed again for cellphone use weeks later.