VERNON, Conn. — A scary situation unfolded on the side of a busy highway on Thursday, as two men attempted to carjack a woman’s Porsche SUV on Interstate 84 eastbound in Vernon, state police said in a release.
Emmanuel Antonio Nina-Saldana, 21, of Boston, and Bryan Saldana, 20, of Hazelton, Pa. were both arrested and face multiple charges, according to state police.
The incident began when the woman operating the Porsche SUV was being tailgated by a small red vehicle in the right lane and pulled over onto the shoulder to let the vehicle pass, state police said, adding that the victim shut her SUV off, grabbed her purse and keys and exited onto the shoulder.
State police said the victim reported that two men exited the small red vehicle wearing masks and confronted the victim along the shoulder of the highway, claiming that she caused a collision with them before attacking her.
According to state police, the victim said the two men grabbed her by the wrist, threw her to the ground, dragged her away from the SUV and jumped into the SUV, attempting to drive off. They were unsuccessful, as the victim had the ignition key, state police said.
State police said that the men then exited the SUV and attempted to steal the victim’s purse, but the victim fought back to defend herself, spilling the contents of her purse onto the pavement. The men then dragged the victim back to the SUV and forced her inside, state police said.
Several witnesses saw the situation occurring along the busy highway and pulled over to assist, and the victim managed to free herself and run toward a witness for help, state police said, noting that the two men then ran down the Exit 66 off-ramp.
State police said multiple 911 calls were made, and Vernon police also responded to the area. A witness kept the two men in sight and pointed them out to responding Vernon police officers along South Frontage Road, where the two men were caught and detained by Vernon police.
The victim got back into her Porsche and drove off, continuing along I-84 past Exit 67, and state police said they attempted to locate her; a trooper was able to pull her over just prior to Exit 69 and determined that she was the sole occupant of the vehicle and the victim in the incident.
Nina-Saldana and Saldana were both arrested, state police said, and Nina-Saldana is charged with robbery by carjacking, criminal simulation, interfering with an officer/resisting, third-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree unlawful restraint, second-degree breach of peace, criminal impersonation, negligent pedestrian, possession of a controlled substance first offense and improper entry/exit of a limited access highway.
State police said Saldana is charged with robbery by carjacking, criminal simulation, interfering with an officer/resisting, second-degree breach of peace, third-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree unlawful restraint, negligent pedestrian and improper entry/exit of a limited access highway.
Nina-Saldana was held on a $1 million bond, and Saldana was held on a $750,000 bond; both men were scheduled for arraignment at Rockville Superior Court on Friday.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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