A police chase that started in Queens, NY ended after a fatal shooting on Long Island, and involved four crashes and left eight people, including police officers, hospitalized. Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said that five Nassau County police officers, two New York Police Department officers and a civilian were hurt during the incident.
Ryder said at a news conference Saturday that around 11 p.m. Friday, the driver was first chased by NYPD officers in Queens; he fled into Nassau County, and police first tried to stop him near Merrick Avenue and Sunrise Highway with the driver “tried to ram” two NYPD officers as he fled during the pursuit, and then slammed into two police cars, Ryder said.
Ryder said: “NYPD put the notification over the air that they were heading towards Nassau County. We engaged with that vehicle somewhere in the area of Merrick on Sunrise Highway. At that time, the officers had boxed in the individual. The individual decided he was not going to stop. He ran through, took off two of our police cars, two of our officers they attempted to run over. They dove out of the way and that vehicle took off again.”.
The police commissioner added that the driver then crashed into a third police car before driving the wrong way on Sunrise Highway and struck a fourth car, which led to the hospitalization of a civilian. The driver finally lost control of the vehicle near Hicksville Road and Sunrise Highway: “Officers got out of the car to take control and arrest the individual, that individual did not comply, there was a shooting that occurred and that individual died.”
Per ABC News, the driver’s name wasn’t immediately released, with the state attorney general’s office notified and leading the investigation. The city said that video was being collected from places along the highway, as well as from officers’ body-worn cameras.
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