Man With Toddlers In Vehicle Rams 3 Cruisers While Fleeing Berlin Police: PD

BERLIN, CT — Berlin police have accused a man of ramming three police vehicles while trying to flee officers Saturday morning, doing so with improperly seated toddlers in the back seat.

The Berlin Police Department said Efrain Justinano-Santiago, Jr., 26, of "no certain address," was charged Saturday with engaging police in pursuit, reckless driving, two counts of criminal attempt to commit second-degree assault, two counts of criminal attempt to commit assault on police officers, and two counts of risk of injury to a minor.

Police said he is being held on a $250,000 total bond pending a court appearance.

According to the BPD, the incident started at 8:28 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, when officers observed a white Cadillac that they recognized.

Police said it was a vehicle that had fled from both Berlin and Newington officers recently.

The Berlin PD had valid arrest warrants for two of the previous incidents.

According to police, the two warrants on file were for previous engagement in pursuit incidents, reckless driving, and a "litany of additional motor vehicle charges."

"Officers aware of his history of reckless driving and engaging in pursuit and, upon observing the vehicle again, disabled the vehicle by utilization of a tire deflation device and subsequently boxed the accused in to pre-empt his ability to successfully engage in a lengthy pursuit and escape," wrote the BPD in a release over the weekend.

"During the apprehension, damage was sustained to three police vehicles. The accused made attempts to escape and rammed two police vehicles, and the third sustained minor damage from locking in the suspect’s vehicle during the box-in maneuver."

When the officers were able to apprehend him, they observed his two toddler-aged children in the rear seat of his vehicle, police said.

The BPD said one was not properly secured in their child seat, and the other was not in a child seat at all.

"Due to the illegal heavy tint, the officers were not aware of the children’s presence until the suspect was removed from the stopped vehicle," wrote the BPD.

Police said they vowed to continue to enforce the rules of the road.

"The Berlin Police Department takes criminal conduct and reckless driving seriously and will vigorously enforce state statutes against vehicle operators who engage police in pursuit and evince an extreme indifference to human life with perceived impunity."