Driver Charged After Wild Ride With Kids In Vernon

VERNON, CT — A 35-year-old driver is due in court in early January to face seven charges after a wild ride in Vernon with unsecured children in the car, police said.

A report on the Dec. 16 incident was released this week.

At 9:35 that night, two Vernon police cars were parked on West Main Street and the officers saw a black Honda Accord go past them at a high rate of speed, a report indicates. The Honda cut in front of another vehicle as it turned north onto West Street and then pulled into the Total Express gas station with the cops behind it, according to a report.

The driver, Manchester resident Michael Spence, was found with marijuana, drug paraphernalia, an open liquor container and a bag with cocaine residue, according to a report.

The coke was near two children in the back seat who were not in a proper restraint system, according to a report.

Spence was subsequently charged with:

• Reckless driving
• Failure to secure a child in a vehicle (2 counts)
• Traveling unreasonably fast
• Risk of injury to a child
• Possession of a controlled substance
• Possession of less than a half-ounce of marijuana

He is due in court on Jan. 8, records show.