SAUGUS—A man was arrested Monday morning after being chased by police and crashing his car into a front lawn on Gilway Street.
According to multiple eyewitness reports, at 10:00 a.m, law-enforcement vehicles blocked off Gilway Street as a black Dodge Charger was speeding down the road with police cars following it. The Charger lost control and crashed into the front lawn of a home at 21 Gilway St.
Police proceeded to pull out their weapons, surround the vehicle and yell, “Come out with your hands in the air.” As the driver exited the car with his hands up, he was arrested and taken into custody. The Charger was towed away minutes later.
There is no new information about the man arrested but WCVB-Channel 5 has reported that investigators say he is a suspect in the homicide of 26-year-old Michael Norton of Saugus, who was found deceased in his apartment on 44 Collins Ave. by family members on Saturday, Dec. 11.
Carrie Kimball, The Essex District Attorney’s Office’s communications director, said they could not confirm the reports at this time.
No injuries or building damage at the scene of the incident were reported.
29-year-old Foti Anderomidas, who lives at 21 Gilway St, was one of the witnesses who saw the crash occur. He was out walking early that morning when he saw the Charger speeding down the street. He said he was in shock when the car crashed into his front lawn and that he had never seen that many police officers at once.
“It all happened so fast,” Anderomidas said. “One minute the car was going so fast, then it jumped onto the curve and then onto our lawn. It was a lot to process.”
Lia Paskaley, a neighbor of Anderomidas, and lives on 23 Gilway St. also witnessed the crash. Paskaley says she was sitting in her home office when she saw police cars chasing the vehicle, and overheard officers yelling at the man to exit the Charger with his hands in the air.
“We are a pretty quiet town,” Paskaley said. “I mean, for this to happen and not know what’s going on, it’s pretty scary, to be honest.”
