Gerald Matzen, 42, of Mastic, drove stolen van in hit-and-run, police say
A Mastic man who police say clipped another car in a hit-and-run crash while fleeing officers in a stolen moving van was arrested on Sunday morning on a series of charges, including drug possession.
Gerald Matzen, 42, of Mastic, with his passenger, Edwin Jefferson, 48, of Mastic Beach, fled from a police stop and took off in the 2025 U-Haul van shortly before 10:30 a.m., headed east on Sunrise Highway Service Road in Patchogue, Suffolk County police said.
Matzen, who police said was behind the wheel, kept going, driving recklessly, when officers tried to stop him, according to a news release.
The van, while barreling down the wrong side of Express Drive North in Holtsville, struck another vehicle, Suffolk police said.
The men ditched the van on Lidge Drive in Farmingville, prompting a police search on foot through the neighborhood streets.
Video shows at least 10 officers sprinting down the road and scouring backyards looking for the two suspects.
Police soon caught up with Matzen on Dogwood Avenue in Farmingville. They nabbed Jefferson, who lives in Mastic Beach, on John Drive, also in Farmingville.
Both men had outstanding warrants for previous charges, police said.
Suffolk authorities charged Matzen with drug possession, leaving the scene of an accident, unauthorized use of the van, and reckless endangerment.
No one was injured in the hit-and-run crash.
The suspects will be held in the Sixth Precinct station house overnight and arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip on Monday.
'You have neurologic effects, you have hematological or blood effects' Lead-contaminated drinking water was found in nearly 3,000 water fixtures in Long Island schools. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger reports.
'You have neurologic effects, you have hematological or blood effects' Lead-contaminated drinking water was found in nearly 3,000 water fixtures in Long Island schools. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger reports.
