Wrong-way driver faces multiple charges after Maple Street crash
A homeless man was arrested Dec. 28 after crashing a stolen van on Maple Street and struggling with the arresting officer, who chased him down in an alley.
MANCHESTER, NH – A homeless man was arrested Dec. 28 after crashing a stolen van on Maple Street and struggling with the arresting officer, who chased him down in an alley.
Police say Flint E. Swett, 44, homeless, is charged with simple assault on a police officer; receiving or possession of stolen property; driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol; resisting arrest or detention; and conduct after an accident.
At about 12:45 p.m. police responded to calls reporting a multi-vehicle crash at Maple and Amherst streets, in which a van engine ignited following impact.
Manchester Police traffic officer Duke Harrington was first to arrive. As Officer Harrington checked for injury, witnesses pointed out that the male driver of a Kia van, later identified as Swett, had just fled the scene on foot. Officer Harrington gave chase and eventually caught up with Swett, who began to fight with Officer Harrington in an alley.
Flint had been operating a blue Kia van with Oklahoma plates, which had been reported stolen Monday morning from a Lake Avenue address. The van was also involved in a separate hit and run accident earlier in the day on Mast Road in Manchester.
Based on eye-witness reports and evidence from the Mast Road accident scene, police confirmed that the stolen van was involved in both accident, and Swett was the alleged driver.
Manchester Police Sgt. Michael Biron reports that a male passenger in the Kia van was transported to the hospital for a possible rib injury, and a female driver in another vehicle was also transported to the hospital for observation of unknown injuries.
The accident on Maple Street remains under investigation.
Preliminary investigation indicates that Swett operated the stolen vehicle the wrong way on Maple Street while under the influence.
Swett was transported to the hospital for injuries sustained from the vehicle’s airbag. He is scheduled to be arraigned in the 9th Circuit Court Manchester on December 29.
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