Driver Arrested After Leading Police On Wild Mass Pike Chase
BOSTON (CBS) – A driver who led police on a wild chase on the Massachusetts Turnpike had allegedly been trying to break into a business in Natick.
Police said Richard Hughes, 36, of Framingham, was being monitored by Framingham and Natick detectives after a rash of break-ins at salons in the area.
Early Thursday morning, detectives had almost given up for the night and were taking one last drive by a salon in Sherwood Plaza on Route 9 in Natick when they say they saw Hughes trying to kick in the door to the business.
Hughes jumped into a Ford Escape around 3:30 a.m. and fled. Detectives called State Police, who joined the pursuit on the Pike in Framingham heading east towards Boston.
"A Trooper deployed a tire deflation device on the Pike in Weston and damaged two tires on the suspect vehicle," State Police said in a statement. "The suspect continued to drive East on the Pike with Framingham and MSP cruisers in pursuit. The suspect vehicle took the ramp to the South Station garage."
That's where the SUV crashed into a State Police cruiser.
Hughes was captured a short time later by a K-9 unit and treated and released from a hospital after a superficial bite from a police dog.
He is currently being held by State Police.
He's charged with negligent driving, driving a motor vehicle after a license suspension or revocation, failure to stop for police, attempting to commit a crime and malicious destruction of property.
Police said additional charges may be filed pending the completion of an investigation.