A Long Island man was shot and killed by police after ignoring a traffic stop in Queens and wounding eight officers, including two NYPD officers and one civilian, according to Nassau County authorities.
Nassau Police Chief Patrick Ryder said at a press conference that the fatal incident occurred when an unidentified suspect fled an NYPD traffic stop around 11 p.m. on Friday.
Police were alerted after a bad driver stepped on the gas and nearly hit two NYPD officers, authorities said.
Police said the suspect headed into Nassau County and officers attempted to intercept him in a patrol vehicle at Merrick Avenue and Sunrise Highway in Merrick. News12 reported:According to the report, two officers were forced to jump back as the suspect ran past them.
The nefarious driver then drove the wrong way down Sunrise Highway, striking a police vehicle and a civilian vehicle, before eventually losing control four miles away at the intersection of Hicksville Road and Sunrise Highway in Massapequa Park, according to the television station.
“It was reckless. He ran into oncoming traffic on Sunrise Highway. He hit a police vehicle. He hit a civilian vehicle and he lost control of his vehicle,” Ryder said at a news conference. Newsday.
“Officers attempted to remove the suspect from the vehicle and shots were fired, resulting in the suspect being killed,” Ryder told reporters.
The fatal chase and shooting lasted about 30 minutes, Ryder said.
Five Nassau Police Department officers, two NYPD officers who attempted the traffic stop and one civilian were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Long Island authorities said.
The names of the dead suspect and those injured were not immediately released.
The New York Police Department referred inquiries to the Nassau Police Department.
