CHESTERFIELD, N.H. — A Connecticut man is being held on $100,000 bond after he fled the scene of a hit-and-run collision on Tuesday at noon.
According to a press release from the Chesterfield Police Department, Christopher Smith, 29, of Uncasville, Conn., was pulling out of the Shell Gas Station on Route 9 in West Chesterfield when he drove into the path of a motorcycle being driven west by Dallis Spicer, 38, of Westminster, Vt.
According to a witness who followed Smith, he initially fled the scene heading east on Route 9 before turning around and heading west, passing the accident scene without stopping. Smith was tracked into Thomaston, Conn., where he was arrested at about 5 p.m.
At the time of the collision, Smith was driving a 2016 International Digger Derrick Truck. A digger derrick is a truck-mounted, hydraulically operated piece of equipment designed to do two basic jobs — lift heavy loads and dig with an auger.
According to the press release, in addition to the charges in New Hampshire for felony conduct after an accident, Smith faces additional felony charges in Connecticut. According to published reports, Smith was arrested in 2013 in Moosup, Conn., and charged with assaulting his elderly father.
For that incident, Smith was charged with disorderly conduct, third-degree assault of an elderly person, interfering with an emergency call, third-degree criminal mischief, first-degree burglary, violation of a protective order, first-degree criminal trespass, sixth-degree larceny and interfering with police. Before he was arrested, there was a brief struggle that ended with the assistance of a canine from the Plainfield, Conn., Police Department.
According to the Plainfield Police Department, Smith most recently was arrested in 2015 and charged with credit card theft.
Because Smith was classified as a fugitive from justice after fleeing the scene in West Chesterfield, bond was set at $100,000
The Chesterfield Police Department's three responding officers were assisted by Chesterfield Fire and Rescue and Rescue Inc.
Bob Audette can be contacted at 802-254-2311, ext. 151, or raudette@reformer.com.
