Sag Harbor man charged with dragging East Hampton cop, police say

A Sag Harbor man was charged with assault and drunken driving Saturday after police said he tried to evade an officer, dragging him with his car in the process.

Andrew Hellman, 36, and a group of others appeared intoxicated when officers saw them climb into a 2001 GMC car in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven convenience store on Montauk Highway in Montauk on Saturday around 4:45 a.m., according to a news release from the East Hampton Police Department.

Officers said they approached the vehicle to interview Hellman.

"Hellman put the vehicle in drive as the officer was attempting to prevent him from doing so resulting in the officer being dragged several feet as the driver sped off,” according to the release.

“The officer was thrown from the vehicle as the vehicle continued at an unsafe speed,” it said.

Hellman kept going west and then lost control of the car, which overturned west of the 7-Eleven  on Montauk Highway, the release said.

The officer sustained minor injuries, Sgt. Dan Roman said. The release said he was treated at Southampton Hospital.

Police arrested Hellman and charged him with driving while intoxicated, second degree assault, second degree reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third, fourth and seventh degrees.

Hellman was arraigned Sunday in East Hampton Town Justice Court, where he pleaded not guilty, Roman said. Bail was set at $7,500 cash or $15,000 bond.