HEBRON, Conn. — Around 1:28 a.m. on Friday, Connecticut State Police troopers from Troop H in Hartford responded to Route 2 near Exit 10 in Glastonbury for a vehicle stopped in the left travel lane, according to a release from state police.
When troopers arrived on scene, the vehicle – a silver Cadillac Deville – fled at a high rate of speed through an active construction zone, state police say. Along with Troop K personnel from Colchester, troopers with Troop H attempted stopping the vehicle, but the driver eluded them by driving eastbound on Route 2.
State police say another trooper responded to the area near Exit 15 on Route 2, found the Cadillac traveling eastbound a short time later, and followed the vehicle at a safe distance to coordinate an attempt to box it in with help from other nearby troopers.
The trooper followed the Cadillac onto Old Hartford Road in Hebron, and other troopers turned on their emergency lights and sirens attempting to box in the vehicle. State police say at this point the driver purposefully struck a cruiser to prevent being boxed in.
As a result of the intentional collision, both the Cadillac and the trooper’s vehicle were disabled. The Cadillac’s driver then allegedly ran from the vehicle to avoid arrest but was apprehended by troopers, who he then reportedly began fighting. Other troopers responded and gained control of the driver, putting him in handcuffs.
Troopers identified the driver as 34-year-old Zachary Whitehead of Killingworth and took him into custody.
State police say that when they searched Whitehead, they found drug paraphernalia and narcotics on his person. They also reported seeing narcotics in plain view inside of the Cadillac and then conducted a search which yielded a large amount of narcotics inside of the vehicle. State police say they also found packing material, cutting agents, and a scale, which were all seized and submitted as evidence at Troop K.
According to state police, the narcotics seized include 328.7 grams of mushrooms, 100 30 mg. oxycodone pills, 120 wax folds of heroin/fentanyl, 70 pills of Xanax, 56 30mg pills of Adderall, 147 grams of powder cocaine in packages, 30.4 grams of powder cocaine inside a supplement bottle, 11.8 grams of crystal meth, 104 separate dosage pills of suboxone sublingual strips, and 41 vape dosage units of THC concentrate.
During the investigation, troopers also determined that Whitehead was exhibiting signs of impairment, according to state police.
Whitehead was taken to Troop K and charged with 20 separate offenses.
The charges Whitehead faces include use of drug paraphernalia, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, operating a drug factory, sale of heroin or methadone, interfering with an officer, assault on a public safety officer, reckless endangerment, illegal possession of prescription drugs, sale of a hallucinogenic substance and first-degree criminal mischief.
He was additionally charged with failure to obey a stop sign, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failure to drive in the proper lane, illegal operation of a motor vehicle under suspension, illegal operation of a motor vehicle without minimum insurance, reckless driving, drive wrong divided highway, endangering a highway worker, disobeying signal of an officer and failure to display lights.
State police say Whitehead is being held on a $250,000 bond and is scheduled for arraignment at Rockville Superior Court on Monday.
No troopers or construction workers were injured during the incident, according to state police.
----
Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
----
Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com.
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.
