Mansfield Pursuit Ends With Crash, Driver Hiding Under Clothing Pile

MANSFIELD, CT — A wild scene with an expensive car in Mansfield ended with state police locating a man who fled a crash scene and hid under a pile of clothes, an incident report indicates.

According to an incident report, the scene unraveled at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday and spilled into early Wednesday morning.

A state trooper on patrol in Mansfield first noticed a silver Mercedes sedan pass another vehicle in a clearly marked no passing zone on Route 32 near Plains Road. The trooper attempted to stop the Mercedes, but the driver shut off his lights and sped away while continuing to pass other vehicles in a no-passing zone, according to an incident report. State police said that as a safety precaution, the trooper terminated the pursuit in the vicinity of Fern and Browns roads.

At 10:36 p.m., the state police Troop C barracks received a 911 call from a resident on Browns Road about a car hitting a stone wall and the trooper who had initially encountered the Mercedes arrived there and saw it smashed against the wall, according to an incident report. The Mercedes was still running and its lights had been turned back on, but it was abandoned, about three-tenths of a mile from where the pursuit was called off, state police said.

The registration plate did not match the Mercedes and that the vehicle had been abandoned. A VIN check of the vehicle showed that it belonged to a Manchester resident, who provided a bill of sale indicating he had sold the vehicle to Jonathan Sewell, 31, of Mansfield, according to an incident report.

A DMV query revealed that Sewell's license had been suspended and that his last known address in Mansfield was about two-tenths of a mile mile from the crash scene, state police said. A police dog track led troopers to Sewell's last known address on Derek Drive, but the owner of the home was unsure of if Sewell was home, state police said. Consent to search the residence was granted and troopers subsequently located Sewell in the basement of the residence hiding under a pile of clothing, according to an. incident report.

At 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Sewell was taken into custody and a subsequent search of the Mercedes and Sewell uncovered crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia. An OC spray self-defense gun was also located inside the vehicle, state police said.

Sewell refused to take a sobriety test at Troop C, according to an incident report.

Sewell was charged with:

• Operating an unregistered motor vehicle
• Misuse of a registration plate
• Driving without a license
• Driving without insurance
• Driving while under suspension
• Reckless driving
• Disobeying the signal of an officer
• Evade responsibility
• Driving under the influence
• Passing in a no passing zone
• The use of drug paraphernalia
• Possession of a controlled substance
• Illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle
• Interfering with police

Sewell was held on a $50,000 bond, transported to the Hartford Correctional facility and was to appear in Rockville Superior Court on Wednesday .