LI CRIME BRIEFS

MANHATTAN/Bombing case witness: I wasn't pressured to cooperate

A key witness who sold explosives to accused embassy bomber and al-Qaida member Ahmed Ghailani testified yesterday that he was not pressured by Tanzanian or U.S. officials to cooperate in Ghailani's upcoming terror trial.

"I am angry . . . to show that I am a clean person and that's why I come to testify," said Hussein Abebe, 46, a Tanzanian taxi driver who said Ghailani "tricked" him into providing TNT used to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam in 1998.

Ghailani disclosed the identity of Abebe under coercive CIA questioning after his capture in 2004. Abebe was appearing at a hearing in federal court in Manhattan to determine whether his testimony at Ghailani's trial this month should be barred as the fruit of a coerced confession. The hearing continues today.

- JOHN RILEY

BRIGHTWATERS

Toddler still in critical condition after hit-run

A toddler remained in critical condition at Southside Hospital yesterday with a head injury the day after being struck by a hit-and-run driver, Suffolk police said.

The 20-month-old girl was with her godmother in the parking lot of the Stone Water Garden Apartments in Brightwaters when she wandered a short distance away, said Det. Sgt. Tony Lavista of the Third Squad. The girl was standing on the parking lot's apron about 4:25 p.m. when a sport utility vehicle pulled out of the lot and turned right onto Howells Road, striking the girl.

Police are asking for the public's help in identifying the driver. Lavista said it's possible the driver was not aware that the toddler was hit.

- ANDREW STRICKLER