HARTFORD, Conn. _ The East Haven, Conn., teenager arrested following a police chase on Sunday night that ended in an crash where a 4-year old child died was involved in a similar incident in nearby Westport only five months ago, police say.
Tyler Carey, 18, was charged by East Haven police with first-degree reckless endangerment, four counts of risk of injury to a minor and second-degree larceny after a car he had allegedly stolen in New Haven crashed in Branford, killing 4-year-old Jarius Jeremiah Little.
Carey was arraigned in Superior Court in New Haven Monday, where his bail was reduced from the $500,000 to $250,000, according to judicial branch records. His next court date in the case was scheduled for Dec. 12.
Meanwhile, Carey is scheduled to appear Wednesday in Superior Court in Norwalk on charges stemming from the Westport incident involving a stolen car, a chase and a crash in June, court records show.
East Haven police said that in Sunday's incident, Carey, 18, was the driver of a stolen car and that he fled after refusing to pull over for a traffic stop Sunday in East Haven shortly before 6:30 p.m.
Lt. Joseph Murgo said that when the officer tried to pull Carey over because the car's taillights were not illuminated, Carey sped away onto I-95 north. The officer pursued the vehicle, which was operating at an extremely high rate of speed, until near exit 54 in Branford.
At that point a superior officer ordered the officer to end the pursuit at that time due to the speeds and danger to other motorists, Murgo said.
The officer exited the highway at the next exit after terminating the pursuit, and drove along Route 1 to return to East Haven. As he drove on Route 1, he noticed smoke coming from the roadway and found that the vehicle crashed head-on into a 2004 Honda Element off of Exit 55 in Branford. The crash occurred on Route 1 just off the exit, Murgo said.
East Haven police said there were six people in the car Carey was driving, including four minors under the age of 15.
The circumstances of that crash are similar to one in Westport on June 22, except in that incident there were no injuries.
In the Westport case, an officer on routine patrol spotted a BMW that had been reported stolen the night before and tried to stop it. The driver of the car took off at a high rate of speed onto Post Road West, according to Westport police records.
Westport officers pursued the car onto I-95 heading northbound until the vehicle got off the highway in Fairfield. The vehicle crashed into a telephone pole at the bottom of the ramp. The three people in the car all tried to flee on foot; two of them were caught immediately. The third was arrested after a chase involving the town's police dog.
Carey was charged with first-degree larceny and interfering with a police officer. The Westport police report on the incident doesn't indicate who was driving the stolen vehicle.
The charges in the Westport case are still pending and Carey was released on a promise to appear in court.
Both East Haven and Westport police list Carey as having a date of birth as June 18, 1998. Carey originally gave Westport police a fake name but they determined his real identity through fingerprints.
.jpg?w=600)
