3 Springfield men were arrested after they allegedly opened fire in front of a state trooper on I-91
The victim remained in "dire condition" late Sunday night, police said.
Three Springfield men were arrested following a shooting early Sunday morning on Interstate 91 that left another man with life-threatening injuries, authorities said.
Isaiah Fraticelli, 18, Luis Cotto, 22, and Keith Cotto, 24, are each facing multiple charges after attempting to evade capture, leading police on a chase that started in Springfield and ended alongside a wooded area near Route 391 in Chicopee, Massachusetts State Police said in a statement.
Authorities said the three men were traveling northbound on I-91 in a 2016 Honda Accord around 1:03 a.m. when they pulled alongside a white 2004 Ford F-150 pickup truck after passing Exit 6, just in front of State Trooper Patrick Dolan’s cruiser.
“Trooper Dolan saw a firearm protrude from the passenger side of the Accord, and the trooper saw and heard several gunshots fired at the pickup,” police said.
Dolan flipped on his emergency lights and tried to stop the sedan, which sped off down the highway, officials said.
As additional police units responded, Dolan pursued the car onto Route 391 northbound, where it left the roadway at Exit 3 in Chicopee and crashed into a guardrail at the end of the ramp on Chicopee Street, according to authorities.
The three men allegedly ran out of the Accord and into a nearby wooded area despite calls from Dolan to stop.
“Moments later two of the suspects emerged from the woods onto the sidewalk and continued running away,” police said. “Trooper Dolan again gave chase and ordered the men to the ground.”
Fraticelli and Luis Cotto were arrested at gunpoint, police said.
Springfield police found the victim of the shooting, a man who was behind the wheel of the Ford pickup, near Union Station at the intersection of Dwight and Franklin B. Murray streets, officials said.
He was brought to Baystate Medical Center with life-threatening injuries and remained in “dire condition” late Sunday night, police said.
Inside the Accord, additional officers and troopers at the scene found a loaded Glock 19 handgun, apparently stolen out of Enfield, Connecticut, police said. K-9 units discovered a loaded Taurus 9 handgun on the ground in the nearby woods, according to officials.
Police believe Keith Cotto fled into the Chicopee River following the crash, but units were unable to immediately find him despite extensive search efforts, authorities said.
“A K9 also tracked to the edge of the Chicopee River,” police said. “A (State Police) Air Wing helicopter flight crew, using an onboard infrared camera, also was able to track a heat signature, consistent with that a person would leave, to the area along the river south of Chicopee Street. An intensive search of the area did not locate the third suspect at that time.”
Keith Cotto was arrested after authorities learned he was being treated at Mercy Medical Center for “injuries believed to have been suffered during his attempt to evade capture,” police said.
All three men were charged with armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition, officials said.
They are slated to be arraigned Monday in Springfield District Court. Officials expect the charges against the suspects to be upgraded should the victim succumb to his injuries.
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