Good Samaritan Helps Nab Suspect In Wild Police Chase
MERRICK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A driver fleeing police on Long Island flipped his car into someone's yard Monday morning, and police say his crazy spree didn't end there.
Just after 9:30 a.m. in Nassau County, the vehicle of a suspect being pursued by State Police went flying into the air, smashing upside down into trees and a fence protecting several neighborhood homes.
Authorities say the vehicle went airborne near the Merrick Avenue ramp on the westbound side of the Southern State Parkway.
"We heard a loud crash," Scott Castellano of North Merrick tells CBS2. "We didn't know what it was on."
As CBS2's Valerie Castro reports, Castellano was home with his father eating breakfast when the car landed against their backyard fence, badly damaging the roof of their garage. He saw the injured suspect stumble away with state troopers in pursuit, leaving bloody prints all over his fence and car.
"I saw him in the backyard," Castellano said. "He had blood all over him, he looked pretty out of it."
Just down the block, the heavily bleeding suspect tried to jump into Deborah Losak's car as she returned from dropping her son off at school.
"He went around to the passenger door and he tried to get in my car and I said 'back off and I'll get you help'," Losak said.
She says she drove away and called 911 before directing responding troopers to the suspect's location so they could move in and make an arrest.
"He was very belligerent," Losak recalled. "He was fighting them, may have even assaulted an officer."
Meanwhile, workers spent hours pulling the extensively damaged vehicle out of the trees to be hauled away. Castellano says he hopes insurance will cover the damage to the garage and trees.
Losak says she's still shaken by her close encounter.
"Lucky me, I had to be in my car in my driveway," she said. "Just glad the door was locked."
Despite her fear, Losak says she's glad she stayed close enough to help police arrest the airborne driver.
Authorities have not released the driver's name or why he was being chased. There's no word on any charges at this time.
