AUBURN — An Illinois man was arrested Monday afternoon after a police chase that started in Franklin County and ended when police spiked the tires of the fugitive’s SUV in Auburn.
Police said when the chase came to an end on Center Street, the suspect, 28-year-old Cesar J. Vergara, intentionally drove his SUV into a utility pole in front of a car dealership.
Vergara was arrested on charges of felony eluding police and passing a roadblock and on the charge of aggravated domestic violence that may have precipitated the chase — police in Franklin County had been searching for Vergara with a warrant that charged him with strangling a woman in the Farmington area.
At about noon, after police in Franklin County were unable to get Vergara to pull over, the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department was asked to assist with the chase as the runaway driver headed south.
The chase continued along state Route 133 in Wilton and Jay, and then moved into Livermore Falls before crossing over the Androscoggin Bridge to Livermore and then into Turner.
“As the chase continued deputies attempted to deploy a tire deflation device or spike mats, in an attempt to terminate the chase however the suspect was able to avoid them,” according to an Androscoggin County Sheriff’s press release. “A tire deflation device is designed to safely deflate the air in a tire in a manner so that the vehicle cannot continue to operate. Deputies then took over the chase from the Franklin County agencies and the chase continued south on Route 4 and into Auburn. The Auburn Police Department was also notified of the chase.
“Another deputy from the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office was able to set up the tire deflating device and deploy it successfully on Center Street in Auburn near Chevrolet and Toyota dealerships,” the release continues. “The suspect vehicle left the roadway and struck a utility pole in front of the Chevrolet dealership in what appeared to be a deliberate act.”
Traffic in that area of Center Street was affected for approximately an hour as police investigated.
Police said Vergara had been driving a 2015 GMC Envoy registered out of Illinois. Vergara himself lists an address in Cicero, Illinois.
He was being booked later Monday at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn.
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