A Long Island teen is facing a slew of charges after he tried to flee police while driving, then slammed into a police car multiple times before he was ultimately caught while running away on foot, officials say.
The chase began in Westbury Sunday afternoon when Nassau County officers on patrol spotted a BMW with a switched South Carolina license plate, police said. When cops tried to pull over the car, the driver sped up.
The officers in their patrol car pulled up along the driver's side of the vehicle, and the driver, later identified as a 16-year-old Westbury resident, intentionally swerved into their car, colliding with it, police said.
The teen driver kept going and turned into a parking lot at 195 Old Country Rd., where he twice more slammed into the police car, disabling it and injuring the officers inside, according to police.
The BMW kept going onto Old Country Road and Meadowbrook Parkway, despite a damaged tire. Finally, the driver lost control and collided with a 2007 Toyota, police said.
The teen driver and three other people inside the BMW ditched the car and ran away on foot. Police found the driver in front of Wright Avenue and arrested him. He had seven plastic bags of marijuana on him, police said.
The two police officers involved in the chase were taken to a local hospital and treated for injuries; they're expected to be OK. The driver and the passenger of the Toyota weren't hurt.
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The teen is facing charges of assault, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, unlawful fleeing, and other charges. He was to be arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead Monday.
