Drunken driver fled Merrick crash, Nassau police say

A Merrick man who Nassau County police said fled a crash scene on foot was tracked to a side street in Merrick early Friday where he was arrested and charged with drunken driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

Police said Anthony Assabi, 30, of Gianelli Avenue, was arrested near the corner of Alice Street and Beach Drive at 12:30 a.m. — about 50 minutes after fleeing a crash on Merrick Road. He was arrested, police said, after a witness “gave a positive identification” that he was the driver of a purple 1993 Chevrolet Caprice that police said caused the accident.

Police said the crash occurred on Merrick Road between Beach Drive and Montauk Avenue and that responding Seventh Precinct officers were told that the driver, who wore a black sweatshirt and had dark shoulder-length hair, had fled on foot. Police located Assabi after a search of the area.

Assabi faces arraignment Friday in First District Court in Hempstead.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”