$100,000 Bond In Lengthy High-Speed Tolland County Police Chase Knocked Down To PTA

TOLLAND COUNTY, CT — An initial $100,000 bond was reduced to a promise to appear in court late last week in connection with a state police pursuit that took up a decent chunk of Tolland County back in March, judicial system records show.

On Thursday evening, the Willimantic Police Department notified the state police Troop C barracks that 18-year-old Coventry resident Matthew Wall was in custody on an active arrest warrant.

Troop C responded and took Wall into custody. Wall is described in the warrant as someone who habitually provokes police pursuits and one who was finally tracked down.

The warrant for Wall stemmed from an incident on March 16, that began on Route 89 in Ashford and sped into Willington and Tolland, state police said.

According to a warrant, state troopers were at the scene of a crash on Route 89 when when they observed a black GMC pickup truck coming at them at a high rate of speed. The truck passed the accident scene and nearly hit a trooper and the driver of the car that crashed, according to the warrant.

"The vehicle was traveling at such a high rate of speed that it would have caused serious injury to anyone it struck," state police said in the warrant.

The vehicle continued on Route 89, then drove onto Interstate 84 west at exit 72. That is a common maneuver to avoid police because of the open road, state police said in the warrant.

A trooper located the truck near exit 70 in Willington and attempted a traffic stop, but Wall accelerated and engaged the trooper in a pursuit, according to the warrant. The trooper was able to see clearly that it was Wall driving, according to the warrant.

The pursuit was later terminated when state police lost sight of the pickup on after blowing through a stop sign on Grant Hill Road in Tolland. A few minutes earlier, Wall had exited the highway at Exit 68 and ran several traffic signs while heading toward Coventry, according to the warrant.

On his jaunt, Wall had hit 96 mph on the highway, used the shoulder to pass, and hit 77 mph when he passed Crandall Park in Tolland after turning from Route 195 onto the Cider Mill Connector before hitting Grant Hill Road, according to the warrant.

The chase lasted about 14 miles.

The warrant has charged Wall with:

• First-degree reckless endangerment
• Engaging police in a pursuit
• Reckless driving
• Disobeying the signal of an officer
• Improper passing
• Violation of traffic control signals
• Failure to obey a stop sign
• Failure to maintain the proper lane
• Failure to use turn signals

Wall was initially held on a $100,000 bond, but during his arraignment in Rockville Superior Court, that was changed to a promise to appear on July 17, records show.