Double trouble in Bethpage as cop car hit after a DWI stop 

Nassau County police officers carrying out the arrest of a driver stopped for alleged drunken driving were surprised when their marked patrol unit was struck by a second alleged drunken driver in a high-speed crash early Saturday morning in Bethpage.

Police said the force of the collision sent the police cruiser "approximately 40 feet" and said "the impact was so forceful that it bent the frame" of the police vehicle.

Arrested in the incident was Quevin Quinteros Crespo, 30, of 33rd Street in Copiague. He was charged with driving while intoxicated and driving without a license, police said. Crespo appeared Saturday in First District Court in Nassau County and records show his case was adjourned until July 26.

Police said Eighth Precinct officers and Highway Patrol officers had stopped a driver for DWI on Central Avenue and were outside their police vehicles, with emergency lights activated and flashing, when they saw the Honda Pilot driven by Crespo bearing down on them "at a high rate of speed and not slowing down."

The officers were able to move to safety, police said. But, as they did, police said the Pilot "crashed into" one police vehicle — sending it hurtling ahead.

A police ambulance responded to the scene and transported Crespo for assessment and treatment. He was later arrested and charged.

Police said the first driver involved in the initial stop also was arrested and charged with DWI, though details of that arrest have not been released.

There were no reported injuries in the incident, police said.

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.”