PITTSFIELD — A city man is facing multiple charges for allegedly leading police on a chase Tuesday that reached high speeds and causing crashes in two communities, one of which caused injuries and shut down traffic for several hours.
The incident unfolded just hours after the man was sentenced to probation for driving with a suspended license last April.
Kevin Reale, 30, was driving a Chevy Malibu on Tuesday evening when he sped past a Dalton police patrol car on West Housatonic Street, according to a Dalton Police report.
The officer clocked him 52 mph in a 35 mph zone, so he turned on his emergency lights and tried to pull over the car, police said.
Instead, the Chevy sped up, and ran through the intersection of West Housatonic and Main streets, striking a red Subaru Ascent.
The impact caused the Subaru to “lift off the ground and spin 180 degrees,” police said. Surveillance video from a nearby business captured footage of the crash. The driver of the Subaru reported a head injury to Dalton police, but refused medical care, the report said.
The collision caused heavy damage to the right wheel of the Chevy, which briefly came to a stop, only to take off again, speeding west down Main Street toward Pittsfield as a large plume of smoke billowed in the air.
The officer tried to follow the Chevy as it raced toward Pittsfield, but lost sight of it about a block from the town border. Moments later, a passerby flagged down the officer to tell him there had been a bad crash up the road.
Witnesses told police that Reale was driving nearly 100 mph before he crashed a second time, striking a Honda sedan and a silver minivan about 6:15 p.m. on Dalton Avenue near Mavis Tire in Pittsfield.
Three people were transported to Berkshire Medical Center for treatment, including Reale. None of the injuries were life threatening, police said. Reale was arrested at the hospital after being treated and released.
Police said Reale’s license had been suspended following an arrest on OUI charges in Lanesborough on April 23.
He also was caught driving with a suspended license after he blew through a red light on Tyler Street in Pittsfield this past December, police said.
He admitted in Central Berkshire District Court on Feb. 23 to driving without a license in that incident, and was once again told not to drive until his license is reinstated.
Just hours before Tuesday’s incident, a plea agreement was finalized in which his OUI charge was dismissed because the Berkshire District Attorney’s office was “unable to sustain its burden” of evidence to support the charge, according to a motion by Assistant District Attorney Megan Rose.
Reale pleaded guilty in that case to operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license and was placed on probation for one year.
On Wednesday, he was back in Central Berkshire District Court, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license; speeding; leaving the scene of personal injury; leaving the scene of property damage; negligent operation of a motor vehicle and failure to stop for police. He remains held in custody pending a bail hearing set for Thursday.
His attorney, Robert Kinzer, told Judge Mark Pasquariello that Reale denies driving the Chevy Malibu.
“My client tells me he was in the backseat of the car,” Kinzer said. “There was another person driving.”
Massachusetts State Police and Pittsfield police responded to the scene. State police are leading the investigation into the Pittsfield crash.
