A man crashed into a car with children in it after allegedly fleeing a traffic stop on Monday evening in West Hartford where police used stop sticks to deflate his tires before the collision.
Officers initially tried to stop the driver for motor vehicle violations shortly after he was spotted on Kane Street at 5:23 p.m., according to Capt. Aaron Vafiades of the West Hartford Police Department.
The motorist got onto Interstate 84 West where police tried to stop him just before Exit 43, Vafiades said. The driver took off quickly and got off the highway at the Exit, according to Vafiades.
Police did not pursue the vehicle but were able to spot it multiple times throughout the town before using a tire deflation device to puncture the tires, Vafiades said. At 5:29 p.m., police found that the driver was involved in a crash in the area of Kane Street and Prospect Avenue, according to Vafiades.
The driver was arrested and taken to a hospital for minor injuries. He was identified as 27-year-old Julio Colon of Hartford, according to Vafiades.
The vehicle Colon allegedly struck had juvenile passengers inside who were taken to a hospital for a “precautionary evaluation,” Vafiades said.
Colon faces charges of evading responsibility, engaging police in pursuit, second-degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, misuse of plates, illegal tints, interfering with police, driving without a valid license, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, no insurance, failure to drive in the proper lane and failure to drive right.
He was held on $75,000 bond and was expected to appear in Hartford Superior Court on Tuesday.