A Connecticut woman wanted on an active arrest warrant was taken into custody on Tuesday after allegedly engaging state police in a pursuit.
A trooper who was conducting speed enforcement on Interstate 91 South near Exit 22 in Rocky Hill around 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday spotted a grey Nissan Maxima allegedly traveling south at a high rate of speed, according to the Connecticut State Police.
The trooper attempted to initiate a traffic stop at the Exit 22 South ramp after allegedly clocking the vehicle’s speed at 81 mph in a 65 mph zone, state police said. As the trooper pulled behind the Nissan, they ran the vehicle’s license plate and learned that the plate was registered to a different vehicle, according to state police.
The driver failed to stop and merged onto Route 9 South. “While attempting to stop the vehicle, other operators became aware of the trooper’s emergency lights and moved to the right to yield,” state police said. “An operator of a black pickup, who had moved to the shoulder to yield to the trooper, was nearly struck by the Nissan as its operator had also moved to the shoulder in attempts to pass other traffic and continue to elude the trooper.”
The driver continued to change lanes and appeared to be exiting Route 9 via Exit 27 when they cut across the exit ramp back onto Route 9 and rolled to a stop in the right shoulder, according to state police. The trooper positioned their cruiser in front of the vehicle to stop the driver from fleeing and directed them to step out of the vehicle, state police said.
The driver, identified as 27-year-old Kasani Blake of Hartford, was detained.
At the same time, the driver of the black pickup nearly hit by Blake stopped on the scene to assist the trooper. The trooper learned that the driver was an off-duty police officer who remained on the scene until additional troopers arrived, according to state police.
“Blake had a passenger in her vehicle, who was later released from the scene once it was determined they had no active arrest warrants,” state police said.
When asked why she failed to stop, Blake allegedly said she was running late for school, according to state police. Troopers learned that Blake had an active arrest warrant out of Manchester, which the Manchester Police Department verified. The trooper also seized the registration plate from the vehicle, which state police said was unregistered and uninsured.
Blake was transported to Troop H in Hartford where she was processed and charged with operating an unregistered motor vehicle, improper use of a registration plate, illegal operation of a motor vehicle under suspension, speeding over 70 mph on a limited access highway, reckless driving, disobeying the signal of an officer, engaging police in a pursuit, failure to drive in proper lane, operating a motor vehicle without a license, failure to insure private motor vehicle and two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.
Blake was later released on a $10,000 bond and was turned over to the custody of the Manchester Police Department. She is scheduled to appear at Middletown Superior Court on Dec. 5, according to state police.
Originally Published:
