The Associated Press
WEST BOYLSTON, Mass. (AP) - Ten people were hurt when a man fleeing police crashed a stolen car into five other cars in West Boylston on Saturday.
Police arrested one woman in connection with the accident andwere searching for Kenneth Santos, a 30-year-old man from the Springfield area, said Sgt. Francis Glynn of the West Boylston Police Department.
Glynn said Santos had stolen an unoccupied car which had keys left inside.
The chase began after Santos had an argument with a manager atthe Sona Motor Inn on Route 12 at about 5 p.m., Sgt. James Bartlet ttold WBZ-TV.
“They were arguing over a room or whatever, and he threatened to kill him,” Bartlett said.
West Boylston officers tried to box in the stolen car in a parking lot near the Sona Motor Inn, but Santos allegedly drove thecar through a pine grove to head north on Route 12. He was with a passenger, Jacqueline Armenia of Worcester.
Glynn said Santos had a .25 caliber gun and ordered Armenia to throw it out the window. When she didn’t, Glynn said the accident occurred.
Police said Santos hit several cars in a chain-reaction crash that occurred at an intersection in a matter of seconds.
Santos fled after the scene in another car. Officers arrested Armenia, 40, on charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Glynn said the department was also investigating firearms charges.
Glynn said Santos had been arrested previously for firearms violations. He was also being sought for outstanding warrants of kidnapping and possession of a firearm.
Nine people in the accident were taken to Worcester-area hospitals, but none of the victims had life-threatening injuries.
Police had recovered the stolen car, a white Mercury Sable, which was badly mangled in the crash.