A Danbury man driving a stolen compact auto was involved in a serious crash with another vehicle Tuesday night, March 21, while being pursued by Monroe police on South Main Street (Route 25), near Sand Hill Plaza.Mark.DiCocco@ct.gov.

State police closed that section of South Main Street to through-traffic for an extended period while their investigation into the crash was underway. Motorists used detours to avoid the accident scene.

State police said that motorist Rasheim Lewis, 31, of Danbury was driving a stolen 2000 Honda Civic northward on South Main Street and approaching its intersection with Bryan Lane at about 9:01 pm when, while attempting to negotiate a broad left curve in the roadway, the Honda began sliding sideways, crossing the road's centerline and entering the southbound lane.

At that time, motorist Kristen Marshall, 46, of Sandy Hook was driving a 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-350 SUV southward, state police said. The right side of the Honda then collided with the front end of the Mercedes, causing the Honda to break into two large pieces, comprising the front end and the rear end of the vehicle. The Honda's fragments came to rest alongside the southbound lane.

Botsford Fire Chief Wayne Ciaccia said volunteer firefighters from Botsford Fire Rescue worked carefully to extricate Lewis from the front end of the vehicle from which he had been partially ejected. The extrication was complicated by that vehicle fragment being upside down. Twelve Botsford firefighters responded to the accident scene.

The Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps transported Lewis to Danbury Hospital for treatment of serious injuries, state police said. A hospital spokeswoman said Wednesday morning that she had "no information" on Lewis.

The impact of the crash resulted in the two pieces of the auto coming to rest about 175 feet apart, Chief Ciaccia said. "I never saw anything like it before," he said.

"Prior to the collision sequence, [the Honda] was attempting to elude the Monroe Police Department. The Monroe Police Department was attempting to affect a traffic stop on [the Honda], as the vehicle was reported stolen out of the City of Danbury on [Monday]," state police said in a statement.

Monroe police spokesman Lieutenant Stephen Corrone said of the incident, "We're conducting an internal investigation," adding that he could not comment on what had occurred.

State police said that they were called in to investigate the collision at the request of Newtown police. The Danbury state's attorney's office was notified of the incident, state police said.

Newtown police spokesman Lieutenant Aaron Bahamonde said, "We will not be making any comments on this case... The case is totally in the hands of [state police] and it would be inappropriate for us to comment on another agency's ongoing investigation."

State police said that Marshall received minor injuries in the collision and refused transport to the hospital.

Any witnesses to the accident are asked to contact Trooper Mark DiCocco at 203-630-8079 or via e-mail at