West Hempstead man faces DWI charge in crash with cop car
Nassau County police said Joseph Garcia, 27, of 300 Mulberry Lane, had been speeding in a 2004 Hyundai south on Nassau Boulevard in West Hempstead when his car hit a marked police car. (Sept. 21, 2013) Credit: NCPD
In two days, two police cruisers from Nassau's Fourth Precinct were hit by drunken drivers, police reports show.
Sunday, Joseph Garcia, 27, of West Hempstead was arraigned at First District Court in Hempstead on charges he drove into a police car while intoxicated early Saturday.
Garcia was driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding on Nassau Boulevard in West Hempstead at 4:30 a.m. Saturday when his car hit a marked police car, police said.
He was arrested and faces several related charges. The police officer was treated at a hospital and released, police said.
In a separate case, police said a drunken driver struck a cruiser at 5:30 a.m. Sunday, injuring an officer and a man under arrest, who were both taken to the hospital, police said.
Police said Jose Martinez, 22, of Franklin Square was driving west on Hempstead Turnpike while under the influence of alcohol when he struck the rear of a cruiser near Euston Road in West Hempstead.
The marked squad car had been parked as a Fourth Precinct officer arrested a man for driving with a suspended license.
Martinez faces several related charges. Arraignment is scheduled in First District Court in Hempstead Monday.
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