BRISTOL — Vermont State Police arrested a Leicester man Thursday night on multiple charges after he allegedly stole a car in Bristol and led police on a chase along Route 17 before crashing the vehicle into a utility pole.
It was at around 10:12 p.m. last night that police received a call from Bristol resident Christopher Dion stating his car had been stolen from his garage and was last seen traveling west on Route 17 toward Bristol village.
VSP Trooper Joe Szarejko and Officer Ken Marcelle of the Bristol Police Department spotted the vehicle, which did not pull over at the request of authorities.
What ensued, according to Szarejko, was a chase at speeds reaching around 80 miles per hour as the driver — later identified as 20-year-old Jacob Bachand —  traveled west on Route 17 toward Route 7.
While still on Route 17, and after passing Sawyer Road, police said Bachand lost control of the Buick, traveled left of the centerline, and struck a utility pole (shearing the pole in half) prior to coming to rest against a large tree.
Police said they quickly removed a “dazed” Bachand from the vehicle and placed him in custody.
Bachand sustained minor burns and lacerations from the airbag in the car deploying. Bristol Rescue took him to Porter Hospital. After being treated and released, Bachand was taken to the VSP barracks in New Haven, where he was booked for driving under the influence, as authorities measured his blood-alcohol content at 0.151 percent; the legal limit for driving is 0.08 percent. He was later lodged at the Marble Valley Correctional Center on $2,500 bail for additional charges of gross negligent operation of a motor vehicle, attempting to elude, excessive speed and violation of his conditions of release. Police said charges of burglary and operation of a vehicle without the owner’s consent are pending.
The New Haven Volunteer Fire Department, Bristol Rescue, and a Central Vermont Public Service Corp. crew were among organizations responding to the scene of the crash.
This incident remains under investigation.