An Uber driver and his passenger were threatened by armed carjackers on Seven Bridge Road (Route 117) in Lancaster around 1 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 14. Esmelky Acevedo, the Uber driver, said he stopped his car to move a tree branch that was lying across the road. When he opened his car door, two men ran out of the woods and tried to take the car. At least one of the men had a gun.
In an interview with WBZ News, Acevedo described how one man jumped into the driver’s seat while the other threatened the woman passenger, who got out of the car. Acevedo was able to force the intruder out of the driver’s seat, and both men chased the car as Acevedo drove forward in short spurts. After he had lured them a distance from his passenger, Acevedo then backed up rapidly and picked her up. He and the passenger drove away safely and called 911.
Lancaster officers called on Harvard police for mutual aid in the ensuing search for the two would-be carjackers, but the local search proved fruitless.
Later that morning, however, there was a new development in the case. A Still River Road resident called Harvard police to report his Chevy truck had been stolen during the night. Harvard officers Edward Coffin and Fawne Russell immediately put out an all-points bulletin for the missing truck. Not long afterward, state police spotted the truck in western Massachusetts near Lee and began to pursue it. To end the chase, police put stop sticks in the road—hollow, pointed sticks that cause tires to deflate slowly, forcing the vehicle to come to a stop.
The two occupants of the truck—a 21-year-old Clinton resident and a 23-year-old from Leominster—were both charged with armed robbery, carjacking, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and several more offenses. According to Harvard police, two active arrest warrants were issued for the pair. Both have been formally arraigned on those charges and are scheduled to appear in court within the next few months.
The Still River Road man whose truck was stolen prefers that his name not be published, but he had high praise for the Harvard police. “They did an amazing job,” he said, noting that their prompt response allowed the culprits to be captured before they crossed out of the state. “I am just very gratified to have my truck back,” he said, especially because all his work tools were in it. “It’s a happy ending.”
