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The incident happened at around 10:30 p.m. Monday, April 22, on I-84 in Hartford.
Connecticut State Police said a trooper was responding to a crash near Exit 46 when they saw a Jeep going westbound in the eastbound lanes.
The Jeep then drove off the roadway into a grassy area before turning around to face east.
The trooper conducted a traffic stop and determined that the driver, 34-year-old Brenda Crespo, of East Hartford, had expired registration and no proof of insurance. An empty alcohol bottle was visible inside the vehicle, police said.
Crespo was then ordered out of the Jeep for a field sobriety test. When she exited the vehicle, the front passenger, 32-year-old Esmeralda Crespo, also got out and ignored the trooper’s commands to get back in the car.
Both women continued ignoring commands and began “actively interfering with the investigation,” even as additional troopers arrived on the scene, police said.
The two proceeded to get “combative” and resisted as troopers tried to get them in handcuffs, police said. At one point, Esmeralda Crespo reportedly grabbed onto the police cruiser and refused to move her legs inside.
Troopers eventually resorted to using oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray to get the woman into the vehicle.
After getting the two women in separate cruisers, a third relative emerged from the Jeep’s backseat before approaching troopers and interfering in the investigation, police said. The woman, identified as 25-year-old Jennifer Crespo, of Hartford, was arrested without incident.
As troopers were arresting the third woman, Brenda Crespo somehow got out of the police cruiser and again interfered with investigators, police said.
All three women were eventually restrained and taken to the State Police Troop H facility where medics treated them for minor injuries.
Brenda Crespo was held on a $50,000 bond and charged with the following:
- Driving the wrong way on a divided highway
- Failure to renew registration
- Failure to carry registration/insurance card
- Interfering/resisting
- Escape from custody
Esmeralda Crespo was held on a $20,000 bond and charged with interfering/resisting.
Jennifer Crespo was held on a $20,000 bond and charged with refusal to identify and interfering/resisting.
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