Watch Woman Ram Connecticut State Police Cruisers, Kicking Off High-Speed Chase

By Richard Chumney

Source New Haven Register, Conn.

NORWICH, CT — An Old Saybrook woman was arrested Thursday after ramming a pair of state police cruisers and leading troopers on a chaotic high-speed pursuit on Interstate 395 that ended when she crashed her car into a guardrail, officials said.

Electra Chiulli, 33, was taken into custody after officers found her hiding under the deck of a home near the site of the wreck, according to a news release from the Connecticut State Police.

Officials said troopers first encountered Chiulli around 3 p.m. when one observed her driving a black Subaru Legacy on state Route 2 in Bozrah and noticed the vehicle was missing its front license plate and failing to maintain its lane.

State police said an inquiry of the vehicle showed its owner — Chiulli — was wanted on an active arrest warrant in connection with a pursuit involving the Old Saybrook police that took place a week earlier.

The trooper followed the vehicle until it stopped at a gas station on state Route 97 in Norwich where they were met with backup. Due to Chiulli's history of police pursuits, the troopers used a box-in technique around her car to prevent her from diving away.

But Chiulli refused to exit the vehicle, reversed her car when officers broke out a rear window and then accelerated into the driver's side door of a state police cruiser, officials said.

Officials said she then accelerated backward and collided with a fuel pump and then rammed a second cruiser, allowing her to maneuver past the vehicle and leave the gas station parking lot.

"No injuries were sustained to any state police personnel or members of the public," police said.

Police said Chiulli attempted to flee officers at a high rate of speed on the northbound lanes of I-395. Officials said she left the highway at Exit 19 and continued on state Route 169 before striking a guardrail while trying to turn left onto Strnad Road in Lisbon.

Chiulli then fled the scene on foot and was later found with the help of a K-9 unit hiding under the deck of a nearby home surrounded by bundles of suspected narcotics and narcotic paraphernalia. Police said she was then placed under arrest without incident.

Officials said Chiulli was transported to a local hospital for treatment and was charged with improper number of marker plates, failure to maintain lane, reckless driving, engaging police in pursuit, evading responsibility of a collision.

She was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, criminal attempt at assault on a public safety officer, first-degree reckless endangerment, three counts of first-degree criminal mischief and two counts of interfering with an officer.

Police said Chiulli was held on a $500,000 bond. Online court records show she has not yet entered a plea in the case and is scheduled to appear in Norwich Superior Court on April 15.

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