Local Man Leads Police On Wild Chase Through The Capital Region

A Capital Region man led New York State and local police officers on, not 1 but, 2 high speed chases through Saratoga County, Schenectady County and Albany County. The chases ended with popped tires, a knife and a struggle before being taken into custody.

This is a wild story that started with an ongoing investigation into an individual with multiple felony warrants for his arrest. An active pursuit begins, New York State Police are notified of the incident and join the case. Here's what happened.

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On Tuesday June 2nd around 2pm, according to a press release, New York State Police are notified of an active vehicle pursuit in Saratoga County. The driver of the vehicle, a 2025 Toyota SUV, allegedly had multiple felony warrants for his arrest.

The vehicle entered Schenectady County, where State Police located it on Erie Boulevard. State Police, in partnership with the Schenectady Police Department, pursued the vehicle, which continued to fail to comply with attempted stops.

Photo by Michael Förtsch on Unsplash

State Police decided to end the first pursuit as the vehicle entered the Interstate-90 Thruway from Interstate-890 due to public safety concerns. The vehicle proceeded to I-87 southbound on the Thruway into Albany County, where troopers attempted to stop the vehicle for traffic law violation.

The driver failed to comply, and another pursuit was initiated during which he traveled through an active construction zone at more than 100 MPH. Troopers were able to puncture the vehicles tires, disabling his vehicle.

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Once the subject exited his vehicle it appeared he was holding a knife as he ran towards troopers, and struck a marked troop car with the knife. 34-year-old Craig R. Derusso of Ballston Lake was taken into custody by a member of the Colonie Police Department after a brief struggle.