A Stratford man was arrested this week on a number of charges for allegedly fleeing a traffic stop on Interstate 95 in Bridgeport over the summer before crashing into multiple vehicles in New Haven.
Eliseo Batz Donis, 27, faces charges of reckless driving, disobeying signal of an officer, engaging police in pursuit, misuse of registration plate, failure to maintain proper lane on a limited access highway and a number of other motor vehicle violations, according to Connecticut State Police.
The warrant affidavit supporting the arrest of Donis said, on July 28, troopers received multiple 911 calls about a driver in a red pickup truck driving erratically on I-95 South in the area of Exit 40 just after 3:30 p.m. State police used Department of Transportation highway cameras to find the vehicle, which could reportedly be seen running other drivers off the road and nearly hitting multiple vehicles, according to the warrant affidavit.
A trooper positioned his cruiser at the Exit 30 ramp where he spotted the pickup truck and began following it. The license plate on the vehicle came back as belonging to a black 2020 Ford F-350 Super Duty truck.
As the trooper followed the red pickup, he allegedly saw the driver cut in front of other motorists and nearly hit them, the warrant affidavit said. The trooper then got behind the driver and flipped on his lights and siren.
According to the warrant affidavit, the driver pulled over in the area of Exit 27A and could be seen staring at the trooper through a side view mirror. The trooper noted in the warrant affidavit that he believed the driver was getting ready to take off once he approached the vehicle, so he stayed in his cruiser for several seconds.
The driver of the pickup truck began to drive off, so the trooper reactivated his lights and siren and the man stopped about 30 feet past where he initially stopped, the warrant affidavit said. By this time, another trooper was approaching the area and was about to stop in front of the pickup truck to box it in.
According to the warrant affidavit, the driver allegedly appeared to see the second trooper and sped off. The vehicle was last seen on Route 8 North near Exit 2. Troopers did not pursue the truck.
A trooper was able to reach the individual registered to the license plate that was on the red pickup and asked him if he owned the vehicle. The man said he owned a black pickup truck, but not a red one, and that he allowed a friend to use it to pick up a boat, the warrant affidavit said.
The man said he was not sure why his license plate would be on a red pickup truck. State police wrote in the warrant affidavit that he was “very cooperative” and “seemed to be concerned.”
Around 5:40 p.m., the New Haven Police Department issued a “be on the lookout” for a red pickup truck that was involved in multiple crashes and left the scene, according to the warrant affidavit. The vehicle was allegedly seen driving very erratically.
About 10 minutes later, New Haven police said the vehicle became disabled after a crash and the driver was in custody. He was identified as Donis, who was taken to an area hospital to be evaluated, the warrant affidavit said.
State police said they were able to identify Donis as the man who fled the I-95 traffic stop before pursuing a warrant for his arrest. He was served the warrant on Wednesday in Milford Superior Court.
Donis was held on a $50,000 bond and was expected to be arraigned in Bridgeport Superior Court.
