Motorist Causes Highway Rollover Crash On I-91, Tries To Elude Cops With Drug, Cash Stash: Police

A motorist weaved in and out of traffic on I-91 Sunday, then smashed into another car, causing it to roll over, according to state police.

The motorist and his passengers then fled into the nearby woods with drugs and cash, police said.

The two-car accident happened on Sept. 6 on I-91 southbound near the Exit 22 interchange in Cromwell, close to the Rocky Hill line.

Police said the victim, a 40-year-old woman, was driving a Honda Touring in the right lane.

A Porsche Cayenne, operated by Hector De Sousa Villata, 27, of Hartford, was “traveling in and out of lanes, passing traffic,” when it hit the Honda, causing the Honda to roll over, according to police.

The Honda driver sustained minor injuries and was taken to Hartford Hospital for evaluation.

After the crash, De Sousa Villata and his two passengers fled the scene on foot toward a nearby woodline, police said.

State police ordered them out of the woods. According to police, they briefly exited the woodline, but then fled when troopers tried to detain them.

Police apprehended the driver shortly afterward, and used K-9 units and drones to search for the passengers. One passenger was found in a nearby apartment complex, and the other passenger got away, police said.

Police searched the suspects’ vehicle and a backpack they had been carrying, and they found narcotics and large amounts of cash, according to police.

De Sousa Villata was charged with reckless driving, evading responsibility, failure to drive in the proper lane, possession with intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance, and interfering with an officer/resisting.

One of his passengers, Nelchar Garcia-Sanchez, 21, of Manhattan, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell, and interfering with an officer.

Garcia-Sanchez has an extraditable warrant with Delaware State Police, and he was additionally charged with being a fugitive from justice.

Both men were scheduled to be arraigned today in Superior Court in New Britain.