Brawl follows crash in Stockbridge

Posted Thursday, January 5, 2012 9:51 am

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STOCKBRIDGE -- Two suspects in a brawl that erupted following a traffic accident and high-speed chase face a probable-cause hearing in Southern Berkshire District Court, according to a police report released Wednesday.

Brian J. Trainer of New Marlborough and Kevin F. Gribben of Albany, N.Y., are each charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, said Police Chief Richard "Rick" Wilcox.

According to the police report, Gribben called Berkshire County Sheriff's Dispatch on Dec. 28 at 3:15 p.m. to report he was chasing a vehicle that had collided with his car. The chase from Main Street to Glendale Road ended at the Pinewood apartments on West Stockbridge Road.

The pursuit began after Gribben's vehicle was struck by a car driven by Daskam Agar, 23, a Pinewood resident, at the Main Street intersection with Pine Street, the police report stated. Gribben chased Agar through the town at speeds up to 100 mph, according to police.

Agar, a paraplegic, was ticketed for unsafe operation of a motor vehicle while texting. He told police he fled the scene because he was afraid of Gribben, who was yelling at him.

Officer Brian Shaw responded to the Pinewood apartment garage with Wilcox and West Stockbridge Police Chief Paul Rubino. There, an "extremely agitated and irate" Gribben was ordered to drop the wooden club in his hand, according to Shaw.

Gribben told police he had been attacked by Trainer, who had been a passenger in Agar's car, with the detachable wheel of Agar's wheelchair.

The three-way altercation involved Trainer and Gribben, who suffered facial injuries, and his girlfriend, Elena Scopelliti, the police report stated.