READSBORO, Vt. — Two North Adams, Mass., men are facing multiple charges after leading state police on a seven-mile high-speed chase in a stolen car early Tuesday morning and crashing at the intersection of Routes 8 and 100.

Shawn M. Tripodes and Matthew R. Rodriques, both 18, were taken to North Adams Regional Hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.

The pursuit began with the report of a stolen vehicle, a 2003 Subaru Forester that was later found abandoned later Tuesday morning on Pike Road in Whitingham.

The owner of the vehicle said he saw someone taking the Forester from his Merrifield Road home in Whitingham and heading toward Route 100 at about 1:46 a.m.

Sgt. Jeffrey Trudeau of the Brattleboro barracks was checking Merrifield Road when he spotted what he believed to be a suspicious vehicle, a 2008 Toyota Camry, with Massachusetts plates flipping on its headlights and quickly exiting a driveway. The trooper attempted to pull the car over at about 2:08 a.m.

The vehicle failed to stop and rapidly accelerated southbound on Route 100 toward the town of Readsboro, according to police, and was observed crossing the yellow centerline and traveling at a very high rate of speed.

The Camry led state police through Readsboro toward Stamford and state border. Massachusetts State Police and North Adams Police were notified of the motor vehicle pursuit and direction of travel. Massachusetts State Police responded back that they had taken a report of a stolen Toyota Camry from the town of Florida, Mass.

The Toyota Camry reached speeds in excess of 100 mph as it approached Heartwellville, where it failed to make the sharp corner at the highway junction. It skidded off the roadway and collided with several trees.  

The operator, who was later identified as Tripodes, fled from the vehicle, said police, and a short foot pursuit ensued before he was apprehended. Rodriques was located still in the passenger seat. Neither were wearing seat belts; vehicle is considered a total loss.

Readsboro and Stamford fire departments and North Adams Ambulance responded to the scene to assist. Heartwellville Towing removed the vehicle from the scene.

The Camry was confirmed to be stolen. State police also located a variety of gift cards, credit cards, a Vermont identification card and empty wallets inside the vehicle. Some items were tracked back to a residence on Route 100 in Stamford. The victim was unaware that the items and cash had been stolen during the night from her unlocked vehicle.  

Several other stolen credit cards located are tied to a theft investigation in the town of Adams, Mass.  State police also discovered that the residence that the Toyota Camry had originally fled from on Merrifield Road had been entered. The homeowners, who were home that night, discovered at 6 a.m. that suspects had allegedly entered their attached garage and ransacked their vehicle.

This case is still under investigation.  

Tripodes was processed for operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs and he submitted to a blood test. He was issued a citation to appear at Vermont Superior Court, Windham Criminal Division, to answer to the charges of operating under the influence of drugs, attempting to elude a police officer, grossly negligent operation, and possession of stolen property.

Rodriques was issued a citation to appear in court to answer to the charge of possession of stolen property.

Update: The driver, Clement Leslie, 51, of Vineland, N.J., was in guarded condition at BMC.

Update: Route 2 was still closed as of 11:30 p.m. Traffic was being diverted down Whitcomb Hill Road to Zoar Road.

FLORIDA, Mass. — A tractor-trailer crash along the infamous Dead Man's Curve on Route 2 left the driver trapped for more than an hour and dumped hundreds of pounds of lime across the steep incline above the Cold River.

The state highway was closed shortly before 5 p.m. from South County Road to Charlemont and was expected to be shut down until later Wednesday night.

The driver of the truck, who has not been identified, was taken by North Adams Ambulance to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.

"He lost control coming down the hill," said Florida Fire Chief Michael Bedini. "He's lucky to be alive.

"We used the Jaws of Life and the wreckers to get where we had to go."

The truck was eastbound on the steep curving section of the highway went the driver apparently lost control coming around the curves and flipped the truck onto the guardrails. The cab of the truck was situated on its side in a way that the driver's head was just past the guardrail and his body still seat-belted in the cab.

Joseph Dean of Dean's Towing positioned two of his large wreckers with cables attached to the truck's underside while emergency responders jacked up the cab an inch or two at a time until they could cut away the driver's seat and pull him out. The driver was reportedly alert and speaking to rescuers during; state police reported that he did not have life-threatening injuries.

State police investigators were at the scene and pointed to the cab's destroyed dashboard and broken off brake controls. The truck apparently sliced through a section of the guardrails before coming to rest on top them.

Clarksburg Fire Department also responded to the scene.

The semi is owned by Paladino Farms of Rosenhayn, N.J., which transports agricultural, fuel and building supplies, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The trailer was carrying pallets of lime, bagged as ViCALity Albaglos, a product of Specialty Minerals in Adams. Dean said the trailer was destroyed and would have to be removed in pieces.

While the dangerous curve has seen plenty of crashes in the past, firefighters at the scene couldn't think of one this significant in the last few years. "It's been a long time since we had an accident up here," said Bedini. 

This is the second significant accident in three weeks on the steep state highway. On March 25, two tractor-trailers collided head-on in North Adams when one lost its brakes coming down the west side of the Mohawk Trail. Both drivers survived the crash.

Troopers from SP Shelburne Falls and SP Cheshire along with local PD,FD, EMS and MA DOTat scene of TT Rollover Rt 2 in Savoy.

— MASS STATE POLICE (@MassStatePolice) April 10, 2013

CORRECTION: RT 2 in Florida in area of TT Rollover REMAINS CLOSED.Traffic will continue to be diverted.We apologize for confusion caused

— MASS STATE POLICE (@MassStatePolice) April 11, 2013

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police are looking for anyone who witnessed a car collide with a pedestrian on Tuesday.

Police say at 8:47 a.m. a 2009 Hyundai Tuscon operated by 65-year-old Marie Guertin Fedoryshyn collided with a pedestrian at the intersection of First and Fenn Streets. The pedestrian was transported to Berkshire Medical Center and then later to Baystate Medical Center by life flight.

Police are now asking anyone who may have witnessed the collision to contact Officer Michael Silver in the traffic bureau at 413-448-9700 ext. 409.

ADAMS, Mass. — Police are asking the public for help in finding a thief who made off with a safe from Chick's Lunch last month.

The burglary occurred in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 23, after the Columbia Street bar had closed. Owner Dennis Knapp discovered the break-in at about 10 a.m. when he went to open up.

Video from security cameras show the thief coming from the back of the building, around into the kitchen area and behind the horseshoe bar. He is wearing a two-tone jacket, lighter on top, and a baseball cap pulled down over his eyes, and is carrying some type of strapped bag. He looks away and down from the cameras — located at three spots around the bar — the entire time.

He enters the screen at about 1:13 a.m. and leaves about a minute later, hauling the small safe with the belts. He also appears to open some of the cooler doors as he moves around the bar.

Police didn't want to give out too much information during the investigation but confirmed there was cash in the safe. They released the video to see if anyone could aid in identifying the suspect.

"We're hoping someone might recognize the jacket or the way he walks," said Officer Keith Erdeski.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Erdeski at 413-743-1212.  
 

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Police are seeking information about an armed assault that occurred Sunday at about 9:30 p.m. at the intersection of South and Main streets.

The victim reported being approached from behind by the assailant, who assaulted and held a knife on the victim while looking for money.

The victim was able to get free and call for help. The invidual was treated at North Adams Regional Hospital for minor facial injuries sustained in the altercation.

The suspect is described a white male, about 6-foot-tall, wearing a dark jacket with a hooded sweat shirt underneath and a beanie hat, or tocque. The victim was not identified.

Williamstown Police are asking that residents report any suspicious behavior or motor vehicles immediately by dialing the department 413-458-5733 or the emergency 911 number. Anyone with information about this specific incident is asked to contact Sgt. Scott McGowan at the department number.