A man has been taken into custody following an investigation into a burglary in Willimantic after a man speeding away from the scene hit a police cruiser and led police on a chase that ended on Route 2 in East Hartford, according to Willimantic police.
Police officers responded to NAPA Auto Parts on Boston Post Road Willimantic around 5 a.m. Tuesday after someone reported that a person was walking out of the store and the windows of the business looked like they had been smashed, police said.
The officers saw a man who had several items in his hands walking out of the store and get into a box truck, police said.
An officer tried to open the door of the truck to detain the man, but the driver sped off, hit a cruiser and drove off, police said.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
State Police responded and chased the driver until he stopped on Route 2 in East Hartford, where state police took him into custody, Willimantic police said.
Authorities said the box truck crashed on Route 2 near exit 5 after hitting multiple other vehicles.
Minor injuries were reported.
Local
Willimantic police said several items had been stolen from the NAPA Auto Parts store and the door and sign were damaged.
They said the man was also a suspect in an earlier burglary in Lisbon and the box truck he was driving was stolen from Waterbury.
Willimantic police said they will seek a warrant and anyone with information about this burglary is asked to call Detective Eric Dean 860-465-3135.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
