Newtown man arrested after crashing while fleeing traffic stop from stolen car: police – NBC Connecticut

An hours-long manhunt in Newtown over the weekend led to the arrest of a 21-year-old man who, according to police, crashed a stolen vehicle and fled while attempting to evade a traffic stop.

Officials said a Newtown police officer stopped a vehicle on Toddy Hill Road around 11:40 a.m. Sunday when the driver of the stopped vehicle turned around and fled the traffic stop.

As investigators later found out, the vehicle had been reported stolen in Danbury several days earlier. It then left the road and crashed at the intersection of Toddy Hill and Turkey Roost Road, police said.

The driver of the stolen vehicle, a 21-year-old Danbury man, then fled the scene on foot, the department said in a statement.

With assistance from the Connecticut State Police and several police dogs, the Newtown Police Department searched the areas of Clearview Drive, Hitfield Road, Mile Hill Road South and South Main Street for the suspect.

The search was also assisted by “several Newtown residents,” police said, who called police after seeing the suspect to provide information about his whereabouts and a description.

The suspect was tracked down and arrested shortly before 3 p.m. after a local resident spotted him in his backyard and observed him unsuccessfully “attempting to open the back door of the house,” police said.

The suspect was taken to Danbury Hospital to be examined for cuts and lacerations he sustained while running through the woods.

The suspect is facing 11 different charges, including auto theft and police pursuit. He is being held on $100,000 bail and will be arraigned Monday in Danbury Superior Court.