A New Britain father, whose two young girls were seriously injured after he fled from police and crashed his car into a Ledyard swimming pool in May 2014, has rejected an offer from the state to plead guilty in exchange for an 8-year prison sentence.

Marcus Harvin, who has multiple criminal cases pending and a previous DUI conviction, appeared before Judge Hillary B. Strackbein Monday in New London Superior Court and rejected an offer to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of 15 years in prison, suspended after eight years served followed by five years of probation.

Prosecutor Sarah W. Bowman had offered a deal involving 10 years in prison, but Judge Kevin P. McMahon reduced the offer to eight years. Plea negotiations continued before Strackbein, who refused to reduce the offer further. Harvin is represented by New Haven defense attorney John R. Williams.

The cases have been added to the trial list, and Harvin faces a violation of probation hearing on May 19 because he was on probation at the time of the incident. He has been free on a total of $89,000 in bonds while his cases are pending.

Harvin's 2-year-old daughter's arm was nearly severed in the May 25, 2014, crash, and her 4-year-old sister suffered a broken ankle. His blood alcohol content was 0.293 percent, more than three times the legal limit, and toxicology tests indicated he had marijuana in his system, according to Ledyard police.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, state police received reports of an intoxicated driver traveling south on Route 12 and asked Ledyard police to keep an eye out because the driver was believed to be heading their way.

A 911 caller had reported seeing a black Acura parked in the roadway at Routes 2A and 12 in Preston. The witness said a man appeared to be asleep behind the wheel and two small children were in the back seat. When the witness approached the car and knocked on the window, the driver — later identified as Harvin — took off south on Route 12 toward Ledyard.

At about 12:53 a.m., a Ledyard officer spotted a vehicle that matched the description parked in a Henny Penny parking lot. The car was running and Harvin was asleep behind the wheel, the warrant said. The officer said two children in the back also were asleep. The officer parked his cruiser behind Harvin's car and knocked on the driver's side window.

The officer said he immediately smelled the odor of alcohol and noted that Harvin's eyes were bloodshot and that his speech was slurred. Harvin initially gave police a false name and admitted to having had "a few" alcoholic drinks at Mohegan Sun casino prior to driving.

After telling him to turn off the car, the officer told Harvin he would administer a field sobriety test to determine whether it was safe for Harvin to drive. When the officer returned to his cruiser, Harvin took off south on Route 12 toward Groton at high speed, the warrant says.

The officer turned on his lights and sirens and started to follow the Acura, according to the warrant, but after a brief time broke off the pursuit out of concern for the safety of the young children in the car.

The officer continued to drive on Route 12 and came upon the crash scene near Long Cove Road about 1 a.m. Police said Harvin's car left the roadway and had crashed into a telephone pole before ending up submerged in a swimming pool at a Baldwin Hill Road address.

Officers quickly entered the pool to rescue the children, who were trapped in the car. They then assisted in freeing Harvin. In a subsequent search, they said they found Harvin in possession of a small bag of marijuana.

The 2-year-old girl's right forearm was partially severed, connected to her body only by a small amount of skin, and she underwent multiple surgeries. The 4-year-old was treated and released from Lawrence + Memorial Hospital.

Harvin, who had been convicted of drunken driving in 2012, had two pending domestic violence cases involving the children's mother.

Following the crash, he was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, two counts of second-degree assault with a motor vehicle, two counts of risk of injury to a minor, first-degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, failure to obey an officer's signal and violation of probation.

k.florin@theday.com

Twitter: @KFLORIN