Two New Haven men suspected in burglaries are in custody after crashing into a police SUV on Interstate 95 in Milford this morning and officers are searching for one more person who ran from the car.
Police said they received a call around 5 a.m. about a suspicious van on Naugatuck Avenue, in an area where burglars have been reported. The caller said the van was idling and it appeared people were loading the vehicle.
Officers went to investigate, but the driver fled abruptly, so the officer alerted other officers about the vehicle and one officer spotted the van at Naugatuck and Bridgeport avenues and followed it at a low speed to Boston Post Road.
Other police, including the K9 unit, were on the lookout on I-95 and the driver in the van lost control, spun out and hit a police SUV on I-95 near exit 39, police said.
Three people who were in the van ran and officers soon caught up with two of them, but the other remains at large.
Police arrested 20-year-old Kelvin Quintero and 20-year-old Noel Figueroa-Flores, both of New Haven.
Both were taken to the hospital because one sustained minor injuries in the crash and police said Qunitero was also bitten by a police dog. Their injuries are minor and neither the officer nor the police dog were hurt.
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They have been charged with third-degree larceny, third-degree conspiracy to commit larceny, third-degree burglary, third-degree conspiracy to commit burglary and interfering with arrest.
Quintero is being held on $225,500 bond and Figueroa-Flores is being held on $210,500 bond .
The arrests come a day after police issued a warning about shed and garage break-ins in town and police said the van was loaded with stolen household items believed to belong to two victims.
Police said burglars have broken into around 12 sheds and garages in two weeks and stolen items, including snowblowers, chainsaws, generators, weed whackers and more.
