Driver in stolen vehicle leads state troopers on Southern State Parkway chase
New York State police said the pursuit of the driver of a stolen vehicle left two troopers with minor injuries. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
The driver of a stolen vehicle was arrested and charged after he led state troopers on a cross-county pursuit that left two troopers with minor injuries, New York State police said.
About 7:36 p.m. Tuesday, state troopers spotted a stolen vehicle heading east on the Southern State Parkway near the Meadowbrook Parkway in the Town of Hempstead, according to a police department news release.
When troopers tried to stop the vehicle, which police did not identify, the driver, Joshua Rosario-Rivera, 38, "fled at a high rate of speed and a pursuit was initiated," the release said.
State police spokesperson Trooper Brittany Burton described him as homeless.
As he fled, Rosario-Rivera "struck multiple marked New York State Police vehicles and recklessly drove at a high rate of speed to avoid apprehension," the release said. Rosario-Rivera headed north on the Sagtikos Parkway before the chase ended near Route 25A in the Town of Smithtown.
Two troopers involved in the pursuit sustained minor injuries, police said.
On Wednesday, Rosario-Rivera pleaded not guilty before Suffolk District Court Judge John Zollo to second-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree obstructing governmental administration, third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, two counts of fourth-degree criminal mischief, driving while ability impaired by drugs, resisting arrest, reckless driving, unauthorized use of a vehicle without owner consent and 18 traffic violations, according to court records.
Zollo ordered him held on $100,000 cash bail, $200,000 insured bond or $500,000 partially secured surety bond. He is scheduled to return to court on April 14.
Richard Kauffman, the defense attorney assigned to Rosario-Rivera according to court documents, did not immediately respond to Newsday’s request for comment.
The passenger in the vehicle, a 39-year-old man who is also unhoused, is not facing charges related to the incident, Burton told Newsday.
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