CLINTON — A Wales man led police on a high-speed chase that reached speeds of 120 mph before surrendering to arrest, according to a news release from Maine State Police.
The incident began at 12:15 p.m., when a Maine State Police trooper initiated a traffic stop on Interstate 95 southbound at mile marker 149 near Pittsfield. The driver of the black 2016 Chevy Camaro then took off at a high speed, according to a release from Shannon Moss, Maine State Police public information officer.
The driver, later identified as Kirk Grover, 46, of Wales, took troopers on a chase. He continued south on I-95 before exiting the highway at mile marker 138 in Clinton. At that point a trooper executed a pursuit intervention technique maneuver, which caused Grover’s vehicle to go into a ditch.
However, as the trooper went to exit his cruiser, Grover freed the vehicle from the ditch and took off again at a high speed, the release said. The pursuit continued onto Hinckley Road until Grover pulled over at the intersection of Canaan Road and Hinckley Road in Clinton. Grover was out on bail conditions and had a suspended driver’s license.
A passenger in Grover’s vehicle, Victoria Stockwell, 32, of Lewiston, was uninjured.
The vehicle Grover was driving was determined to have been stolen two weeks ago in Auburn, when Grover took the car for a test drive and never returned it to the dealership, according to the news release. The car was factory red, but Grover spray-painted it black to conceal the original color.
Grover had several active warrants for his arrest for a number of charges, including theft by unauthorized taking, theft by deception, violation of bail and home repair fraud, according to the release. He was arrested and further charged with criminal speed, driving to endanger, eluding, operating on a suspended license, attaching false plates and violations of conditions of release.
He was taken to Somerset County Jail. Maine State Police were assisted by Fairfield and Clinton police departments.
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