LIE service road crash injures BMW SUV driver, passengers, cops say
Suffolk County police investigate a crash on the westbound service road of the Long Island Expressway in Holtsville Monday, Jan. 18, 2016. A 19-year-old driver and two passengers were injured after the driver fled a traffic stop in Holtsville, police said. Credit: Chris Sabella
A 19-year-old driver and two passengers were injured Monday night after the man fled a traffic stop in Holtsville, traveling as fast as 80 mph on the Long Island Expressway service road before flipping his sport utility vehicle as he attempted to avoid arrest, police said.
The driver, whose identity was not immediately released, suffered a leg injury, Suffolk County police said. His passengers suffered undisclosed minor injuries, police said.
The driver of the BMW SUV was stopped on the westbound LIE at 7:49 p.m. after he approached a Suffolk highway patrol officer “at a high rate of speed” — and the officer, whose patrol car was ahead of the driver’s vehicle, initiated a traffic stop on the shoulder near Exit 62, Nicolls Road, police said.
The driver initially stopped, police said. But then, as the officer was approaching the vehicle, police said the driver sped off — exiting onto the westbound service road at Exit 62.
Police said the SUV was traveling at approximately 80 mph when the driver “swerved to avoid a tractor trailer” stopped on the left shoulder and two other vehicles that were in the left hand lane near Morris Avenue. The SUV flipped, causing significant damage to the vehicle and minor injuries to the passengers.
The driver was arrested and charged with unlawful fleeing of a police officer. He also was cited for speeding, police said.
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.”
