One teenager has been arrested and at least one other person is at-large after state police chased two stolen cars in a 20-mile pursuit up Route 2 early Monday morning.
One 15-year-old juvenile was arrested after officers stopped one of the vehicles at Exit 5D on Route 2, near the Glastonbury-East Hartford line, state police said.
But the second vehicle, a gray 2018 Chrysler 300, exited the highway in Glastonbury and evaded police, officials said.
The juvenile was charged with more than a half-dozen crimes, including second-degree larceny and engaging police in pursuit, state police said.
The pursuit began a little after 6:30 a.m. when a state trooper spotted the Chrysler 300 on Route 16 about 30 minutes after a person called to report it stolen from a 7-Eleven in East Haddam, state police said.
Troopers tried to pull the car over, but it and a second stolen vehicle took off and led police on the pursuit up Route 2 westbound, state police said.
The Chrysler exited the highway in Glastonbury and was spotted by local officers, but they did not chase it, Lt. Corey Davis said Monday morning. The car ultimately evaded officers and was last seen in the area of Putnam Boulevard and Route 3, he said.
Troopers continued to pursue the second car, which has not been identified but police said was stolen from Bristol on Sunday, until it was disabled near Exit 5D on Route 2, State Police Sgt. Dwight Washington said. State police did not release how the vehicle was stopped.
The juvenile was held Monday pending an appearance in court and police continued to search for the Chrysler and its driver, state police said Monday afternoon.
Although the pursuit Monday ended without incident, the chase follows a rash of car thefts by teenagers and the string of dangerous high-speed pursuits that have followed.
Last month, a Hartford teenager was killed when the stolen Mercedes Benz SUV he was riding in crashed after evading Madison police. His death was at least the third since 2016 in crashes related to juveniles and stolen cars.
Staff writer Christine Dempsey contributed to this report.
Zach Murdock be reached at zmurdock@courant.com.
