East Hartford Man Charged After Dramatic Police Chase: CSP

EAST HARTFORD, CT — An East Hartford man has been charged with drunk driving this week, among other charges, following a crash, a police chase, and then another crash Monday in East Hartford.

According to Connecticut State Police Wednesday, Daniel Vazquez, 27, of East Hartford was charged Monday, Dec. 16, with operating an unregistered motor vehicle; failure to display license plates; illegal operation of a motor vehicle without minimum insurance; reckless driving; disobeying the signal of an officer; engaging police in pursuit; illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs; failure to maintain proper lane on a limited access highway; interfering with an officer/resisting arrest; and second-degree reckless endangerment.

Vazquez was later released from custody on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on Jan. 2, 2025.

State police Thursday released details of Monday night's dramatic incident, which took place in the area of Interstate 84 in East Hartford.

Police said at about 9:42 PM, a trooper assigned to Troop H in Hartford observed a single-vehicle collision involving a red Infiniti sedan in the area of the Exit 58 onramp to I-84 west in East Hartford.

Another trooper was close by at the time this occurred and responded to the scene, police said.

Troopers observed the vehicle was perpendicular across the right lane and right center lane of I-84 westbound at the end of the Exit 58 onramp with heavy damage.

Police said the damage was to the front-end passenger side and included a deflated right front tire and thick smoke billowing from underneath the hood.

Troopers also observed the vehicle's windows were heavily tinted and could not determine how many occupants were inside, police said.

As troopers approached the vehicle, they observed the operator was attempting to maneuver the vehicle, moving forward and backward, according to police

Police said they noticed the vehicle did not have any registration plates and it was later determined the vehicle was not registered or insured.

"Once the vehicle was oriented in the proper direction of travel, the operator began to rapidly accelerate," wrote police in a statement Thursday.

The troopers returned to their cruisers to catch up with this vehicle, activating emergency lights and the siren and signaling the operator to stop, police said.

As the troopers tried to stop the vehicle, the operator was swerving across the lanes at approximately 50 mph while the vehicle was still smoking, police said.

The operator then abruptly cut across the lanes of I-84 westbound onto the Exit 55 ramp to Route 2 eastbound, police said.

Troopers attempted to box the vehicle in on Route 2 eastbound, but the operator failed to stop, police said.

State police said the operator exited Route 2 eastbound at Exit 5 and became involved in another collision, striking a guardrail and a concrete divider along the exit ramp.

The vehicle then became completely disabled at this time and police, again, attempted to approach on foot, police said.

Troopers gave verbal commands for the occupants to exit the vehicle with their hands up, at which point a male exited from the passenger side, police said.

"Out of an abundance of caution based upon the circumstances, the male was ordered to the ground where he was placed in handcuffs without further incident," wrote state police.

The suspect was positively identified as Vazquez.

During the investigation, Vazquez was exhibiting "clear signs of impairment," resulting in field sobriety tests, which Vazquez didn't pass.

For the Connecticut State Police news page, click on this link.