Dashcam video released of pursuit of New Haven teen

EAST HAVEN » Police have released dash camera footage of a pursuit of a 14-yearold New Haven boy believed to have stolen a car from a relative.

The teen suffered minor injuries after crashing into a telephone pole on Main Street on Wednesday morning, police said.

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The video, released on the East Haven Police Department Facebook page, is about a minute and a half long and shows an officer pulling up alongside a vehicle going in the opposite direction, stopping for a little while, and then turning around to follow the car as it speeds away.

Police say they saw the gray Honda stopped at a light at the intersection of Thompson Avenue and Main Street as they were responding to a stolen motor vehicle complaint around 3:23 a.m. The car had its headlights off.

The officer was pulling alongside the car to advise the driver of the light being off, police said, but the driver ignored the officer and later shook his head and took off toward Main Street.

The officer lost sight of the Honda near La Bamba Restaurant, but as he came around the bend, saw a large amount of smoke and downed power lines, police said. Some wires across the roadway can be seen in the dashcam video, with the Honda off to the right of the screen.

The teen driver was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital for minor injuries and charges are expected to be filed, police said.

Screenshot from East Haven Police Department dashcam video.