Groton — Police have charged a Groton woman who fatally struck a man with her car while he was walking from his job at the Electric Boat shipyard in Groton one night in April, authorities said.

Carrie Malarkey, 38, of 46 Nichols Ave. was charged Tuesday with second-degree manslaughter, reckless driving and insufficient insurance, according to the City of Groton Police Department.

Just after 10 p.m. April 21, 2020, Malarkey was driving her 2012 Ford Focus on Eastern Point Road when she struck 60-year-old Ralph Lopardo of Waterford as he was crossing the street in the crosswalk after finishing his shift at EB, according to police.

Lopardo "careened off the hood of the vehicle and went airborne before landing on the roadway" and died from his injuries, according to a civil lawsuit filed last month against Malarkey by his wife, Barbara Lopardo, executor of his estate.

Lopardo had worked as a senior engineer for Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory out of the EB shipyard for 37 years, according to his family. He was married to his wife for 12 years and had a son, daughter, stepson and two grandchildren.

His widow filed a lawsuit in New London Superior Court on Dec. 30, 2020, alleging that Malarkey was negligent and reckless, according to court documents.

After a nine-month investigation by Groton City police and the Connecticut State Police Collision Analysis Reconstruction Squad, a warrant signed by Judge Hillary Strackbein was issued for Malarkey’s arrest. She turned herself in to the Groton City police at 8 a.m. Tuesday, police said.

Malarkey was released on a $30,000 cash surety bond and is scheduled to appear in court in New London on Jan. 26, police said.

t.hartz@theday.com