Driver Arrested in Accidents in Dalton, Pittsfield
Update for eyewitness information; and again at 5:40 p.m. for driver information.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A motorist who allegedly caused two accidents and led police on high-speed chase on Tuesday was to be charged in the incidents.
Police say Kevin Reale was operating with a suspended license when he fled the scene of the first crash on Main Street and then collided with two other vehicles near the Coltsville intersection in Pittsfield.
Dalton Sgt. Bustin Buzzella flagged a light gray Chevrolet Malibu for driving 52 in a 35 on West Housatonic Street at around 6:09 p.m. on Tuesday. When he flashed his lights in an attempt to pull over the vehicle, the Malibu picked up speed and went through a red light at West Housatonic and Main causing the first accident of the night, said police.
The victim in that crash told police that she struck her head but refused medical attention.
Reale, said police, took off at more than 80 mph in the direction of Pittsfield. Buzzella continued to pursue the vehicle until he lost sight of it somewhere near Colonial Gardens or Taco Bell.
He notified the Pittsfield Police Department and, as he was turning at the Sherwin-Williams Paint Store on Dalton Avenue to go back to help with the first accident, he was flagged by another motorist reporting the second crash down the road at Mavis Tire.
The Malibu had apparently rear-ended a minivan — its front bumper was stuck on the back of the smashed-in van. The Malibu had front-end and rear passenger side damage.
A third car involved was a dark-colored Honda Accord that had been heading east toward Dalton; it had significant front-end damage.
A witness who had been driving ahead of the Honda Accord said he heard the Malibu skid and clip the van. It then went over the median, hitting either a sign or pole, and then came in behind him and smashed into the Accord. Both cars came to rest in front of the Mavis Tire parking lot.
The witness thought the Malibu was going more 60 mph and said it had been swerving between cars in what he suspected was an attempt to evade Dalton Police, saying the cruiser (driven by Buzzella) arrived at immediately at the scene with its lights on.
"I can't say for 100 percent certainty that that car was fleeing. It just didn't seem right that a Dalton cop would be in Pittsfield with their lights on traveling at a high rate of speed behind that accident," the witness said earlier on Wednesday.
This suspicion was also expressed by multiple social media users who shared their accounts of the Chevrolet Malibu narrowly missing them and mentions of potentially two other accidents that day involving the same vehicle.
Reale was taken into custody after getting cleared by Berkshire Medical Center; he was brought to court earlier Wednesday morning to face a number of charges.
Both Pittsfield and State Police were at the scene on Tuesday night and troopers were searching the vehicles.
The road was reduced to two lanes and police were on scene for several hours. They declined to provide any information on the accident at the time — including how many people were involved or if anyone was injured — other than to say it was under investigation.
Tags: motor vehicle accident,
