After Traffic Stop in New York, Stratford Passenger Takes the Wheel and Flees, Shedding Bags of Heroin: Police

Westchester County Police said that at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, WCPD Officer Steven Stromberg stopped an Infinity sedan with excessively tinted windows on the northbound Hutchinson River Parkway in White Plains—about a half mile south of the North Street exit in Harrison, NY.

He asked the driver to step out of the car to speak with him. When he did so, the passenger threw numerous items out the window, jumped into the driver’s seat and drove off, police said.

Traffic was heavy at the time and moving slowly. Stromberg took the initial driver into custody and then proceeded north on the Hutch.

The person driving the car exited at North Street, went through a red light at the top of the ramp and was involved in a minor accident. Stromberg was then able to take him into custody. There were no injuries from that accident, police said.

County police said they subsequently recovered 300 glassine envelopes of heroin and a small plastic bag with a half-ounce of crack cocaine from the area of the original traffic stop. The heroin sells for $10 to $20 on the street, depending on the area.

The original driver was Tory Wells, 36, of Stratford, CT. The passenger turned second driver was Erick Franceshini, 35, also of Stratford.

Both were charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd Degree, a felony.

Franceshini was also charged with Obstruction of Governmental Administration 2nd Degree, a misdemeanor, and multiple traffic violations.