Cops: Drunken driver fled police; officer injured

A Suffolk County police officer sustained a leg injury while arresting a drunken driver after a short pursuit that ended in Bay Shore early Wednesday night, police said.

The extent of the injury to the female officer, identified only as a member of the Third Precinct, was not known.

The driver, Gilberto Zayas of Brentwood, was charged with driving while intoxicated, unlawfully fleeing a police officer, reckless driving and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Arraignment information for Zayas was not immediately available Thursday.

Police said Zayas was spotted driving a 1996 Nissan Pathfinder "erratically" on northbound Carleton Avenue south of Union Boulevard in East Islip when the officer attempted to begin a traffic stop just before 9 p.m. But, police said, Zayas fled -- leading the officer on a short pursuit that ended on Sunrise Highway near Brook Avenue in Bay Shore.

The account issued Thursday morning varied from earlier information provided by police, who initially indicated the injured officer was male -- and that the officer was injured when the driver drove over his foot, breaking bones. Police also had said the pursuit began on westbound Sunrise Highway near Connetquot Avenue in Islip Terrace.

Police said no police vehicles were damaged in the chase.