Wild Highway Chase Ends With State Police Cruiser Hit In Rocky Hill

ROCKY HILL, CT — A wild scene on several highways ended with a state police cruiser being hit by a suspected impaired driver in Rocky Hill, whose car eventually spun out, authorities said.

According to a state police incident report, at 12:50 a.m. Sunday, a state trooper was patrolling Interstate 84 eastbound to Route 2 eastbound in East Hartford and observed a black Acura MDX sport utility vehicle traveling in front of him that, while negotiating the exit ramp to Route 2, began to swerve.

The Acura sharply swerved over the solid white line of the shoulder, followed by an over-correction with the vehicle traveling between the right and left lane, according to an incident report. Once on Route 2, the Acura was continuously drifting from its lane, according

As troopers attempted to stop the Acura, the driver appeared to be complying, but accelerated from the shoulder at speeds of between 60 and 70 mph, according to an inc incident report. The Acura then exited Route 2 and cut across to Route 3 heading south while running a red light, according top an incident report.

The vehicle eventually proceeded onto I-91 southbound from Route 3 and three state police cruisers attempted to box in the vehicle and slowly bring it to a stop on the shoulder, according to an incident report. The driver attempted to drive around the box via the right shoulder, but collided with the right side of the lead cruiser, spun out across the highway and collided with the wire rope guardrail in the center median, according to an incident report.

The driver, identified as 28-year-old Vernon resident Daniel Henderson, claimed to be uninjured, but showed "clear signs of impairment, to include pinpoint pupils and profuse sweating consistent with narcotics use," according to an incident report.

Henderson's license was also determined to be under suspension, state police said.

Upon transporting Henderson to the state police Troop H barracks for processing, he complained of pain and an ambulance was requested to take him to an area hospital, according to an incident report. At one point during transport, Henderson admitted that he was using a cell phone during the pursuit and was not wearing his seatbelt, according to an incident report.

Henderson was charged with:

• Failure to wear a seatbelt
• Illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under suspension

• Reckless driving
• Engaging police in a pursuit
• Driving under the influence
• Failure to maintain the proper lane
• Failure to stop on the right side of the roadway
• Operation of a mnotor vehicle using Ha handheld electronic device
• Failure to obey at traffic control signal
• Driving without a license
• Operating a motor vehicle with unsafe tires
• A tinted auto Glass violation
• Interfering with police
• Assault on public safety personnel
• First-degree reckless endangerment

Henderson was held on a $50,000 bond and was to appear in Manchester Superior Court Monday. Please see the attached video & criminal information summary.