STURBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - A couple was arrested after they fled from police while trying to make a cocaine delivery from New York City to Massachusetts on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
A trooper attempted to stop a 2015 Honda Accord with a North Carolina registration for speeding on Route 84 eastbound around 1:15 p.m. but the driver kept going, weaving in and out of traffic and at times driving up to 130 mph, as well as up to 80 mph in a construction zone, according to state police.
The trooper saw the Honda take Exit 3A onto Route 20 eastbound and advised surrounding towns to be on the lookout for the car.
Just before 1:30 p.m., Charlton police spotted the Honda and attempted to conduct a traffic stop but the driver sped away before crashing on Route 20 at H. Putnam Road, state police said.
Both occupants of the vehicle, later identified as Blair Thornton, 25, and Shantia Crocker-Carter, 23, fled on foot but were quickly apprehended by police, authorities added.
A state police K-9 searching for evidence along the route that the suspects ran stuck his nose through a large piece of rolled-up garden edging and into a pile of leaves inside someone’s backyard.
Troopers looked into the area where the K-9 had alerted them to and found a large package wrapped in tape inside a condom where the Crocker-Carter had been taken into custody, state police said.
The package reportedly contained a substance believed to be about 80 grams of cocaine.
An investigation revealed that Crocker-Carter was in possession of the cocaine while in the car and that it was intended for delivery from a source in New York City to a person in central Massachusetts, according to state police.
Thornton was transported to Harrington Hospital for treatment of minor injuries before being transported to state police Sturbridge barracks, where he and Crocker-Carter were both booked.
Thornton is facing charges of failure to stop for police, speeding, marked lanes violation, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a crash that caused property damage, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, breakdown lane violation, and disturbing the peace.
Crocker-Carter is facing charges of trafficking cocaine and disturbing the peace.
Both suspects are expected to be arraigned in Dudley District Court.
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