Cops: Car thief hits vehicles on parkway

A car thief who, police say, was high on drugs struck nearly a dozen vehicles in bumper-to-bumper traffic Wednesday going east on the Northern State Parkway before ramming a police cruiser and fleeing.

Eventually, state troopers several exits east of the mayhem - near Exit 36, South Oyster Bay Road in the Bethpage area - caught up with the driver and the stolen Nissan, arresting him on pending charges that were expected to include driving while ability impaired, a Nassau police spokesman said.

A spokeswoman said none of the drivers whose cars were struck had major injuries. The suspect, not immediately identified by police, was brought to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow.

The highway patrol officer in the Nassau cruiser had to jump out of the way when the suspect rammed the car. The officer sustained minor injuries, scraping his knees, police said.

Earlier in the day, the suspect and the car - which had been stolen from Northport - were involved in an accident in Westbury, police said.

Police were not pursuing the suspect when he got onto the Northern State going east. He encountered traffic shortly before noon and began forcing other motorists off the road and ramming their cars in an attempt to get through traffic, police said.

Hearing screeching behind him, the highway patrol officer went to investigate the commotion when the stolen car struck a concrete barrier separating eastbound and westbound traffic. The suspect then reversed the car, struck the front of the police car, and took off, police said. State troopers nearby pursued and caught the suspect, police said.

With Gary Dymski