What to Know
- Police say a Long Island man killed his wife and took off when his 12-year-old son called police
- The man allegedly led police on a 30-mile chase across Long Island and Brooklyn before getting into a fiery crash at a gas station
- Police say the man charged officers at the gas station; three officers were injured trying to subdue him
A Long Island man stabbed his wife to death and then led police on a 30-mile chase that ended in a fiery crash in Brooklyn, authorities said.
Authorities say the man stabbed his 41-year-old wife to death at their home on Seitz Drive early Friday while the couple's children were in the house. Their 16-year-old daughter suffered defensive wounds to her arms, hands and legs, police said. Their 12-year-old son, who was not harmed, called police.
Officers responded around 12:40 a.m. and eventually tracked down the man on the Southern State Parkway. As officers approached him, the man took off down the parkway, according to police.
The cross-county pursuit covered 30 miles and took police onto the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn, authorities said.
The man got off the Belt Parkway at Pennsylvania Avenue, where he crashed at a Flatlands Avenue gas station in East New York, according to police. His vehicle hit a gas pump and another car and then burst into flames, sending plumes of smoke floating over surrounding streets.
Ben Williams witnessed the chase and the crash. He says the police were trying to perform some sort of PIT maneuver before the suspect hit a gas pump.
"The guy lost control of the car, went up into the gas station. As soon as he hit the pump on the right side, the car exploded," Williams said.
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The man then allegedly got out of his car and charged at officers. Four officers were eventually able to subdue him.
Three officers suffered injuries during the skirmish. They were all taken to an area hospital to be treated for a head injury, arm injury and smoke inhalation, respectively.
The suspect was taken into custody and transported to Brookdale Hospital, where he was undergoing surgery for self-inflicted stab wounds to his neck and wrist.
There was a heavy police presence at the Bethpage home and at the scene of the suspect's charred car in Brooklyn on Friday morning.
Police said that they were called to the home this past March because of a fight between the man and his son. It's unclear if it was the 12-year-old son who called police or another son.
