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Police in Bloomfield, Conn., arrested 18-year-old Frederick Sowell after he allegedly caused chaos in a cemetery by carjacking a vehicle, knocking down gravestones and hitting a young girl with the car.
Sowell allegedly attempted to steal the car of a woman visiting a grave at the Mount St. Benedict Cemetery at around 2:45 p.m. on Sunday. While the woman was at the grave site, she left a girl in the car, along with the keys.
Sowell jumped in the car and started it, at which point the young passenger opened the door and threw herself out, according to the Hartford Courant.
The car’s owner ran back to the vehicle and tried to stop Sowell by reaching through the passenger window, but he pushed her away and sped off.
“Sowell then drove erratically at a high rate of speed through the cemetery, driving over the lawn area and numerous grave markers to the part of the cemetery,” Bloomfield police captain Stephen Hajdasz told the Courant. He added: “While driving off the roadway, he headed towards a group of people who were visiting a grave site, causing the group to scatter in order to avoid being struck by the vehicle.”
When Sowell reached the other group, one 10-year-old girl couldn’t move out of the way fast enough and was hit — though not seriously injured — by the car.
The group managed to chase Sowell down in their vehicles and stopped him at the cemetery exit, according to CBS affiliate WSFB. The group held him there until police arrived.
Sowell has been charged with carjacking, second-degree robbery, second-degree larceny, first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree breach of peace, according to the Courant; he is being held on $250,000 bail.
Police in Bloomfield, Conn., arrested 18-year-old Frederick Sowell after he allegedly caused chaos in a cemetery by carjacking a vehicle, knocking down gravestones and hitting a young girl with the car.
Sowell allegedly attempted to steal the car of a woman visiting a grave at the Mount St. Benedict Cemetery at around 2:45 p.m. on Sunday. While the woman was at the grave site, she left a girl in the car, along with the keys.
Sowell jumped in the car and started it, at which point the young passenger opened the door and threw herself out, according to the Hartford Courant.
The car’s owner ran back to the vehicle and tried to stop Sowell by reaching through the passenger window, but he pushed her away and sped off.
“Sowell then drove erratically at a high rate of speed through the cemetery, driving over the lawn area and numerous grave markers to the part of the cemetery,” Bloomfield police captain Stephen Hajdasz told the Courant. He added: “While driving off the roadway, he headed towards a group of people who were visiting a grave site, causing the group to scatter in order to avoid being struck by the vehicle.”
When Sowell reached the other group, one 10-year-old girl couldn’t move out of the way fast enough and was hit — though not seriously injured — by the car.
The group managed to chase Sowell down in their vehicles and stopped him at the cemetery exit, according to CBS affiliate WSFB. The group held him there until police arrived.
Sowell has been charged with carjacking, second-degree robbery, second-degree larceny, first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree breach of peace, according to the Courant; he is being held on $250,000 bail.
