Troopers Save Kittens From Burning Car After Mass Pike Chase

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Two kittens were pulled from a burning car following a chase on the Mass. Pike Friday afternoon, State Police said. Troopers tried to stop a gray 2004 Nissan Maxima in Framingham shortly after 4 p.m. because it did not have an inspection sticker and the driver had a suspended license, police said.

The driver, a 26-year-old Westford woman, initially pulled into the Natick service plaza but sped off as troopers approached her. She pulled over again in the breakdown lane in Wayland. Her car began smoking from the undercarriage and caught on fire.

Troopers pulled the woman from the car, and she "flailed and kicked at them," State Police said. She told police her kittens were still in the burning car, which at that point was fully engulfed in flames.

Troopers smashed the car's rear window and found two kittens inside a transport cage in the car. They pulled the cage from the car in time to prevent any burns or injuries, State Police said.

The woman was placed into the back of a police cruiser, where she kicked at the windows and complained of pain, police said. She was taken to the hospital for evaluation and will face charges that are expected to include license and inspection sticker violations, failure to stop for police and assault and battery on a police officer, State Police said.

The kittens were brought to an animal shelter in Natick, where a member of the woman's family picked them up.