Police Capture Driver Who Dragged State Trooper After Traffic Stop On I-95
WALPOLE (CBS) – The driver wanted for dragging a State Trooper briefly during a traffic stop on Interstate 95 early Thursday morning has been captured, police said.
Two troopers stopped a 2015 Jeep SUV on I-95 south in Canton just after midnight for what police said were "motor vehicle violations."
When they walked up to the Jeep, the troopers said they saw marijuana inside and asked the driver, later identified as 31-year-old Whaneller Vizcaino of Dorchester, to step out, but he refused.
"When one of the Troopers tried to open the Jeep's door, the suspect sped off. The Trooper's hand was stuck in the vehicle when it drove off and he was momentarily dragged a short distance, suffering a hand injury," State Police spokesman Dave Procopio said in a statement.
The troopers went after the SUV and another State Police cruiser joined the chase. The Jeep eventually got off the highway at Exit 10 onto Coney Street into Walpole and crashed. Vizcaino ran away.
Procopio said troopers found plastic containers in the SUV filled with "multiple pounds of marijuana."
State and local police searched for Vizcaino for several hours and eventually found him just before 9 a.m. at an apartment complex in Sharon and arrested him. Procopio said he apparently spent the night hiding in the woods and he was carrying a "large amount of cash."
He's now facing several charges, including speeding, driving under the influence of drugs, assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. He was arraigned Thursday in Stoughton District Court.
The trooper who was dragged had his hand checked out by EMS, but he did not go to a hospital. His name was not released.