ORANGE — A black 2019 Honda Accord, reported stolen from Derby, was traveling westbound on Derby Avenue at a high rate of speed at approximately 12:37 p.m. on Feb. 4 when it proceeded through red traffic signals at the intersections of Birchwood Road and Racebrook Road.
The Honda collided with a white 2013 Honda CRV traveling on Racebrook Road.
The female operator of the CRV sustained significant but non-life-threatening injuries.
The Honda came to rest against the guardrail on Derby Avenue, and two black male occupants were observed running from it.
A search lasting over four hours ensued for the two suspects in surrounding neighborhoods and in the town’s vast open space known as the Racebrook Tract.
Orange Police Department was assisted by officers from Woodbridge Police Department and K9 teams from the Connecticut State Police.
The suspects were spotted on a few occasions and engaged officers in foot pursuits but continued to evade capture in the heavily wooded area.
Both Amity Middle School and the Southern Connecticut Hebrew Academy were placed on lockdown during this time.
At approximately 3:30 p.m., police began to receive reports of a black male in and around some backyards on Dentree Drive and Birchwood Drive.
Officers eventually apprehended a 16-year-old juvenile from New Haven in the backyard of a residence on Oakwood Drive.
The suspect, who was already wearing a monitoring bracelet on his ankle, had entered two separate residences in the area and was even confronted by a juvenile resident hiding behind a sofa before running back outside.
He was arrested and charged with larceny of a motor vehicle, interfering with police, credit card theft, burglary in the third degree, and burglary in the second degree.
Officers applied for and received an order to detain the suspect, remanding him to the Bridgeport Juvenile Detention Facility.
The second suspect was never located and remains at large, but police have several solid leads on his identity that are still being investigated.
