HARTFORD, Conn — During FOX61's latest edition of First & Finest, Brian Foley with the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection provided an update after a state trooper was injured and several people were arrested following a chaotic crash and chase in Tolland Saturday.
Police said it all started around 2:30 p.m. when they got a report of people trying to steal cars in the area of Kozley Road.
As troopers were responding to the area, a second caller on Williams Way reported that he had interrupted a burglary in his garage and that one of the suspects pulled a firearm on him.
The caller was able to give a vehicle description and license plate, which came back as an Acura RDX that was stolen from Newington.
A trooper then saw the car driving south on Old Stafford road and started following it, but the stolen car sped away.
Eventually, the stolen car intentionally hit a police cruiser head-on by the Tolland Green, injuring a state trooper.
After the crash, the five suspects ran off.
"There were K-9s involved that came. The k-9 tracked down one suspect and got him. Then the K-9 tracked and got another suspect. Three other suspects were locked in a garage. The residents called 9-11 on them and the state police got them. So when you have five suspects bail out during a police chase, armed suspects, you can expect typically one would get away. So what a great job by the Connecticut State Police getting all five suspects on some very serious charges," said Foley.
Foley said the state trooper who was injured was taken to the hospital and got stitches, but he will be okay.
Foley also provided an update about the investigation into what caused a massive fire at the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford on Feb. 12.
Fire marshals said a large portion of the property was destroyed, including the woodshop, arts and crafts, cooking zone, and camp store buildings.
Foley said all the snow we've been getting has slowed down the work of the Connecticut State Police arson investigators.
"I can tell you they did have an arson K-9 there and that K-9 did not hit on any sort of accelerants, so what that means in plain terms, it did not smell like gasoline, anything like that, which tends to in cases similar to this you think that's probably likely not going to turn out. They still have some more steps to take, but hopefully they said they'll have a determination within a week," said Foley.
The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp was founded by legendary actor Paul Newman in 19-88 for seriously ill children and families.
First and Finest: Trooper hit in Tolland; Hole in the Wall Gang fire
Stolen car report leads to chase and crash