A driver chased by Hartford police got into a three-car accident in Bloomfield Sunday night and later died, Bloomfield police said Monday.
Bloomfield Capt. Stephen Hajdasz said no police vehicles were involved in the crash on Blue Hills Avenue just south of Cottage Grove Road. The driver of the fleeing car was headed north on Blue Hills Avenue when he struck a car, Hajdasz said. Those two cars were then struck by a third, he said.
The driver of the car police were chasing was taken to St. Francis Hospital and was listed in stable condition Sunday night, Hajdasz said. But Bloomfield was notified Monday morning that he had died. Hajdasz did not have the driver’s name.
Hartford Deputy Police Chief Brian Foley said his officers were in the area investigating recent shootings. They were watching the vehicle in question and attempted to stop the car; that attempted stop then resulted in a brief chase into Bloomfield, he said.
This is the second high-profile chase involving Hartford police since June, when Hartford police chased a vehicle into West Hartford.
After the incident, a West Hartford police cruiser video apparently showed an officer “kicking or stomping one of the arrestees after that person was handcuffed,” Hartford Deputy Police Chief Brian Foley said at the time. That case is being investigated by the Litchfield state’s attorney’s office.
WNPR has asked for and been denied the police videos in question.
Updated: Below is the statement from the HPD.
On Sunday, July 31, 2016, at approximately 7:16pm, Hartford Police Department Detectives were in the area of Blue Hills Avenue due to a recent increase in shots fired and ShotSpotter activations. HPD Detectives attempted to conduct a motor vehicle stop of a suspect vehicle in the area of Pershing Street at Blue Hills Avenue. The operator of the suspect vehicle failed to properly yield and drove away from the Detectives. The HPD Detectives had reason to believe that a firearm was present in the fleeing vehicle and communicated that to dispatchers. The suspect vehicle traveled from approximately the 500 block of Blue Hills Avenue, over the town line into Bloomfield, into the 800 block of Blue Hills Avenue. The suspect vehicle lost control and struck another vehicle in the area of 869 Blue Hills Avenue, Bloomfield, CT. The operator and passenger of the suspect vehicle were transported to St. Francis Hospital as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. The operator of the suspect vehicle (identified by Bloomfield PD as Exavier Myers, 7/17/98 of Hartford) was originally listed in critical condition, with a head injury and internal bleeding. The passenger (identified as 16yo male of Hartford CT) had minor, non-life threatening injury. Bloomfield PD responded to the scene and assumed the motor vehicle accident investigation. Per BPD procedure the North Central Municipal Reconstruction Team (NCMRT) responded to the scene to process and further investigate the MVA (BPD case 16-22289). The suspect vehicle was heavily damaged and a complete search could not immediately be conducted due to severe damage. However, (1) 9mm live round was observed in the vehicle on scene. A search warrant will be completed and submitted by BPD and NCMRT to GA14 for a complete search of the vehicle. All involved vehicles were towed from the scene and placed on an investigative hold by the NCMRT. The CT States Attorney’s Office in Hartford was notified. The occupants of the 2nd vehicle that was struck by the suspect vehicle suffered non-life threatening injuries and they were transported to Hartford Hospital. This morning, August 1, 2016, the operator, Xavier Myers, was pronounced deceased as a result of his injuries sustained in the accident. The incident continues to be investigated by the Bloomfield Police Department, NCMRT and the CT State’s Attorney’s Office GA14. As per standard protocol with any potential pursuit, HPD will conduct in internal review of the incident.
