Norwalk police arrested a drunken driver who led police on a pursuit onto Interstate 95 south and then crashed near a construction site, injuring four including two construction workers, police said.
Marino De Los Santos, 35, of Bridgeport, confessed to police that he was drinking and didn't have a license, police said.
He was driving northbound in a minivan on West Avenue in Norwalk when an officer spotted an equipment violation and began running the license plate. He kept going as the van turned onto I-95 south.. The registration plate came up as stolen, so the officer turned around to get on the highway and found the minivan on I-95 south in the right lane, police said.
The minivan pulled onto the right shoulder of the highway and slowed down to 10 miles an hour as the officer was confirming it was the same stolen plate that registered in the police database before. When the officer pulled up behind the minivan and turned on his emergency lights, De Los Santos accelerated, swerving to the left lane and then back into the right lane, police said.
The police officer activated his siren and tried to pull the minivan over. De Los Santos kept going, speeding and passing vehicles on the right by exit 14, police said.
The officer slowed down as they approached a construction zone with signs posted, but De Los Santos kept going and lost control. Meanwhile, the officer called Norwalk police's dispatcher and asked them to loop in state police about the location of the fleeing minivan, police said.
De Los Santos crashed into a guardrail and construction truck near exit 11 in the construction zone, police said. He injured two construction workers in the crash and one of his female passengers was thrown from the van, sustaining serious injuries, police said.
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De Los Santos and a second female passenger also were injured in the crash, police said.
Ambulances transported De Los Santos, his two passengers and the two construction workers to Norwalk and Stamford hospitals, police said.
Norwalk police charged De Los Santos with operating under the influence, four degrees of second-degree assault with a motor vehicle, reckless operation, engaging police in a pursuit, possession of a stolen registration plate, misuse of plates, operating a motor vehicle without a license, failure to carry an insurance card and failure to have tail lamps.
Police issued De Los Santos a $50,000 bond. He is due in court on Sept. 8.
State police are investigating the crash.
Members of the public can report crimes to police by calling the Norwalk Police Department's tip line at 203-854-3111, submit anonymous internet tips at www.norwalkpd.com and text anonymous tips to CRIMES (274637) by typing NPD into the text field and any information you have.
