The fast-moving incident began with a report at 9:22 a.m. of a carjacking of an elderly woman at knifepoint in Norwalk's Rowayton section.
Police said the suspect got on to I-95 with police in pursuit and got off at Exit 17 in Westport.
While racing along Saugatuck Avenue towards Westport's center, the suspect was apparently involved in several accidents, none of which resulted in injuries, police said. At that point, police lost sight of the suspect's car. Westport police received a 911 call a few minutes later from a woman reporting her Volvo SUV was carjacked at Hermit Lane and Calvalry Road near the Weston town line, police said. She was not injured.
From there, the suspect headed toward Weston's center, again pursued by police.
As he got to Weston's center, witnesses said he was "hanging out the window" of the car, which then crashed into one utility pole, severing it, and ejecting the driver. He was reportedly thrown more than a dozen feet from the car. The car came to rest against a second pole near the entrance to Weston's schools, which are not in session until next week.
Westport and Weston police officers performed CPR on the man until Weston EMS arrived, witnesses said. Police said the suspect was taken to Norwalk Hospital by Weston EMS where he was pronounced dead.
State police were in charge of investigating the Weston crash because it involved several police jurisdictions.
According to reports, Norwalk police had been searching for a suspect matching the description of the carjacker since about 12:45 a.m. when they received a report that a man ran into a home on Old Field Place in Rowayton and stole a woman's purse.
Police used a Darien K-9 unit to search for the suspect, but could not locate him, it said.
The suspect matched an earlier description of a man involved in an attempted carjacking in Easton, reports said.
The suspect was also wanted by police in Easton, Newtown and Redding, The Advocate said.
Westport Police Chief Alfred Fiore was on the scene along with Westport First Selectman Gordon F. Joseloff and Weston First Selectman Woody Bliss.
Both town leaders were notified of the incident while attending a meeting on H1N1 flu preparations at the Westport Weston Health District.
"We're just grateful that none of our residents or police officers was injured," Joseloff said.
Weston police closed Weston Road and the center of town, pending an investigation of the accident. Power was out in the area because a transformer was blown in the crash.
Westport police issued the following statement concerning the carjacking and subsequent death of the suspect Tuesday morning:
"Earlier this morning the Westport Police Department was notified by radio that Norwalk Police Department units were in pursuit of a carjacked stolen vehicle on I-95. Minutes later the stolen vehicle exited the highway at Exit 17. Westport Police Department units spotted the car on Saugatuck Avenue but were unable to catch up to it, losing sight of it in traffic in the Saugatuck area as it drove north at a high rate of speed on Saugatuck Avenue.
"While driving north on Saugatuck Avenue the stolen car struck at least two other cars. Police officers lost sight of the car in traffic in Saugatuck. Minutes later the department received a 911 call from a woman who said her vehicle was carjacked in the Hermit Lane/Cavalry Road area of Westport. Shortly afterwards, a Westport Police unit spotted the second stolen car on Weston Road and attempted to stop it. The driver of the stolen vehicle would not stop and a pursuit began northbound on Weston Road.
"A short time later the stolen car was involved in a crash in Weston. The driver of the stolen car, the only occupant of the car, was killed in the crash. There were no reported injuries to the drivers of the cars struck by the stolen car in Saugatuck.
"It appears at this time that the driver of the first stolen car was the same person responsible for the second carjacking in Westport. At this time the incident is still under investigation. The crash in Weston is being investigated by the CT State Police, the Westport carjacking and the hit and run crashes are being investigated by Westport Police. Further information will be released as it becomes known."