Police are seeking a driver they say was involved in two high-speed chases Thursday night before crashing his Pontiac Grand Am into a tree off Pond Road in Manchester and fleeing on foot.

Maine State Police identified the suspect as Steven N. Black, 28, a transient who lives in the Augusta area, and say they tracked him both on shore and on the ice early Friday on Cobbossee Lake.

The tracks they followed led back to Pond Road, according to a news release sent by Maine State Police spokesman Steve McCausland.

McCausland said a trooper first tried to stop Black’s car on U.S. Route 202 in Manchester until breaking the chase off after their speed topped 100 mph.

Winthrop police Chief Ryan Frost said his agency was told of the chase just before 8 p.m., and Officer Kenneth Tabor encountered the car — reportedly being driven erratically — on South Road in East Winthrop and tried to stop it there.

However, Tabor lost track of the car around 8:20 p.m. on Pond Road.

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The vehicle later was found crashed on a camp road near the West Gardiner line.

Police officers and a tracking dog followed the suspect’s trail for more than 5 miles, according to McCausland.

Police said Black faces charges of operating after suspension, eluding an officer and driving to endanger. He is described as 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds.

Anyone knowing Black’s whereabouts is asked to call state police in Augusta at 624-7076.


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