FARMINGTON — Police agencies are expected to meet Thursday morning to sort out the details of a wild night of vehicle thefts, police chases and a hit-and-run crash that left a Wilton officer injured, Farmington police Lt. Jack Peck said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, authorities were seeking those involved in the crime spree that began late Tuesday night, said Lt. Niles Yeaton of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. Farmington police were searching for at least two white males believed
to be in their 20s in connection with at least one of the thefts, Peck
said.

On Wednesday, Wilton police officer Nate Reid was released from Franklin Memorial Hospital after treatment for minor injuries suffered when his cruiser was rammed by a speeding van being chased by county deputies along Route 43 toward Temple around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wilton police Chief Dennis Brown said.

Reid had set up spike mats on the road to flatten the van’s tires, but as the van approached at about 75 mph, Brown said, the driver turned off the headlights and drove into the officer’s lane. The van hit the cruiser as Reid attempted to back it up to avoid the collision, Brown said.

The van then left the highway, rolled several times and landed in the yard of a home, Yeaton said. Several people in the vehicle fled. County Cpl. Nate Bean and Deputy David Rackliffe and their trained dogs were unable to track them, Yeaton said.

Maine State Police are investigating the crash, which damaged the Wilton department’s newest cruiser, a 2009 Chevrolet Impala. Brown said he wasn’t sure whether it would be a total loss.

The van was one of five vehicles police recovered Wednesday: Three were taken from Temple, one from Farmington and one from Augusta. All had keys in the ignition at the time they were taken, Yeaton said. Four were not damaged.

A 1995 Chevrolet pickup truck stolen from a residence on Clover Mill Road in Farmington at about 11 p.m. Tuesday was driven several yards and parked, Yeaton said.

A 1996 Jeep Cherokee from Augusta was found abandoned in Temple. The Jeep had been chased by Franklin County deputies, who eventually lost sight of it. It was later found near an all-terrain-vehicle trail and the owner was called. It
had not been reported stolen, Yeaton said.

A 1993 Chevrolet Lumina stolen from Iisalo Road in Temple was found on Varnum Pond Road in that town.

And a Chevrolet Avalanche pickup stolen from Varnum Pond Road in Temple, about 200 yards from where the Lumina was left, was found in the parking lot at McDonald’s restaurant in Farmington after
Lt. Peck received an anonymous tip. He said a person talked to the
thief and
gave police enough of a description to do a composite sketch.
Business cameras recorded the suspect being picked up by another person
driving a light-colored Dodge Intrepid, Peck said.

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Farmington and Wilton police are looking for a suspect who resembles this composite sketch. The man is believed to be in his 20s and is sought in connection with several vehicle thefts reported Tuesday night.