By: Laura Soukkavong
West Springfield, Ma – Early Thursday, Feb. 19, officers of the Springfield Police were dispatched to the Mittineague Children’s Center for a motor vehicle issue. As officers arrived on scene, an encounter with Jeffrey James Yu was made standing outside a while Land Rover with no license plates and the hood raised. Yu told officers he was waiting for a tow truck and provided identification documents.
An officer returned to their cruiser to verify the information. Yu entered his vehicle and fled the area. Emergency lights and sirens were immediately activated by officers, and a pursuit began westbound on Westfield Street. As the pursuit continued, the vehicle was observed crossing double yellow lines into the eastbound lane to pass other vehicles before returning to the westbound lane at a high rate of speed. The pursuit was subsequently terminated at the Westfield town line due to public safety concerns.
Shortly after, the Westfield Police Department located the vehicle after it crashed at a U-Haul Moving & Storage of Westfield on Springfield Road. The vehicle sustained significant damage and caught fire. The male operator was observed by officers fleeing on foot from the crash scene.
K9 Frank responded and began a track on Yu, who was located underneath a box truck in the U-Haul parking lot.
Yu began resisting officers as they attempted to take him into custody. At this time, K9 Frank engaged and maintained control until officers were able to deploy a Taser. Upon effective deployment of the taser, Yu was taken into custody. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Yu has been charged with resisting arrest, interfering with a Police K9, failure to stop for Police, marked lanes violation, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and operating with a suspended license (subsequent offense).
Yu is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.