Police say car destroyed after chase, crash in Manchester

An East Hartford man who led a Manchester officer on a high-speed chase that ended with a spectacular crash in December has been arrested, according to police.

Ja’Kai Bennett, 22, of 905 Burnside Ave., was charged on a warrant with engaging police in pursuit, reckless driving, evading responsibility, speeding and criminal mischief.

Officer Adam Marois was on patrol on Dec. 15 about 5 a.m., driving west on Center Street near Broad Street, when a vehicle headed the other way ran a red light, Marois wrote in the arrest warrant affidavit.

Marois turned around, turned on his emergency lights and drove up behind the car, but the driver refused to pull over, the warrant says. The driver sped down East Center Street to Porter Street, going so fast, Marois wrote, that he lost sight of the car.

Near Porter and Highland streets, Marois spotted the car’s lights in the woods and saw someone running from the wrecked vehicle, the warrant says. The car was smashed on all sides, all airbags had deployed and car parts had flown well into the woods, Marois wrote.

“It was determined that the vehicle struck the curb and a utility pole stabilizing wire, became airborne after launching up a small berm, struck a small tree approximately 8.5 feet off the ground, landed on the ground approximately 71 feet from the curb, rolled through a chain link fence and hit three more trees,” the warrant said.

Police found Bennett at Manchester Memorial Hospital, where he was being treated for unspecified injuries.