HARTFORD, Conn. -- A man has been accused of leading police from several agencies on a major pursuit through several towns.

But what police said he did before the pursuit forced a mother and son to be separated.

Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Katy Zachry was in Cromwell and reported that the man carjacked three different cars and crashed them all.

A guardrail in Cromwell was the last thing he hit before he was finally caught by police.

"All of a sudden people were burning their tires. I happened to look up, and a car was dangling on the guardrail," said Anthony Caruso, an eyewitness to the incident, said.

Caruso saw a blue Honda that had been carjacked.

The driver was Danilo Rivera, 28, police said.

Eyewitnesses watched as Rivera walked from a car wreck to a Jeep he had rear-ended and tried to carjack it.

"He came over, grabbed my shirt, took a swing at me, so I hit him back, and he ran across the road to try to find someone else," said an unnamed eyewitness.

"I saw the guy running on to my car. I figured he needed help and was going to call for help," said Sebastin Bartolotta.

Bartolotta was almost carjacked, but his 150 pound Rotweiller was with him and grabbed a hold of Rivera's arm until eyewitnesses were able to wrestle Rivera to the ground.

"The incident did not begin in Cromwell. It started in Hartford," said Cromwell police Capt. Roy Nelson.

Police in Hartford were first after Rivera early Saturday afternoon after he crashed a stolen car outside of a Burger King on Airport Road. He then carjacked a vehicle from the parking lot with a 7-year-old boy inside.

Police soon found the boy on the shoulder of Interstate 91 after he was apparently forced out of the car.

He was reunited with his mother, police said.

State police were also chasing Rivera because he crashed on the highway and carjacked another vehicle.

That car was a blue Honda, which he drove into Cromwell, leading to his capture.

"We have accidents, but you don't see a car chase from Hartford coming into Cromwell. Kind of amazing they were able to catch him," said eyewitness Barbara Caruso.

Rivera was charged with a slew of crimes from Cromwell police, including driving under the influence.

Saturday night he was in custody at the Hartford Police Department, so they could charge him and turn him over to state police who will also charge him.

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