Jason Parker

A Central Islip man has been accused of using a baseball bat to smash windows on a car and punching its driver during a road rage confrontation last week.

Suffolk County police said Jason Parker was driving a BMW while tailgating another vehicle eastbound on the Long Island Expressway near Exit 57 at 8:30 a.m. April 10, followed the victim to Express Drive South at Exit 62 where the BMW cut off the victim.

The 25-year-old man got out of his BMW, smashed the victim’s windshield and two driver’s side windows before repeatedly punching the victim in the face, police said.

The incident brought traffic to a sudden halt, causing a minor fender bender between two uninvolved vehicles.

Parker fled the scene, but the victim and a witness took down his license plate number and took a picture of him using a cell phone camera, police said. The victim was treated for his injuries at Stony Brook University Medical Center.

Parker was arrested Sunday and charged with criminal mischief, assault and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. He will be arraigned Monday at First District Court in Central Islip.

Joseph Pritchard

The man who was killed in a truck crash on the Long Island Expressway in Dix Hills early Monday morning has been identified as a New York City police officer.

Suffolk County police said 30-year-old Joseph Pritchard of North Babylon was driving a Dodge pickup truck that stopped for an unknown reason in the westbound right lane of the LIE near exit 51 before being rear-ended by a International box truck at 2:23 a.m.

Both trucks burst into flames upon impact. Pritchard was pronounced dead at the scene.

An NYPD spokesman said Pritchard was assigned to Midtown South and was hired in January 2005.

The driver of the box truck, 34-year-old Eduardo Garcia of the Bronx, was taken to Huntington Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The truck is owned by Barakat Trucking.

Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks while the investigation is continuing.

Second Squad detectives ask anyone with information on this crash to call them at 631-854-8252 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

Suffolk County police said Joseph Pritchard was driving a Dodge pickup truck that stopped for an unknown reason in the westbound right lane of the LIE near exit 51 before being rear-ended by a International box truck at 2:23 a.m.

Both trucks burst into flames upon impact. Pritchard was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the box truck, 34-year-old Eduardo Garcia of the Bronx, was taken to Huntington Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The truck is owned by Barakat Trucking.

Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks while the investigation is continuing.

Second Squad detectives ask anyone with information on this crash to call them at 631-854-8252 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

Suffolk police detectives are investigating the crash that critically injured Bahar Kaya, the driver of a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, when she was struck from behind by a 2002 Dodge Durango as she was traveling west with her sister at 9 a.m. near exit 57, police said.

Kaya was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital along with her 22-year-old sister, Nese Kaya, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The 19-year-old woman behind the wheel of the Durango was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The crash sparked a second collision involving three other vehicles, police said, but nobody was injured.

The investigation is continuing, police said. The department is asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash to contact Fourt Squad Detectives at 631-854-8452.

Gloria Montoya, 49, Commack, was driving a Honda Accord eastbound on the LIE near exit 51 when her car was rear-ended in the center lane by the dump truck that was merging from the right lane at 7:30 p.m., police said.  The Accord then struck the concrete center divider, a Toyota Solara in the HOV lane and a Dodge Magnum in the center lane, police said.

The driver of the Solara, 83-year-old William Broer of Hauppauge, was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was listed in serious condition. Montoya was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.  The driver of the Magnum, 35-year-old Carlos Gonzalez of Central Islip, was not injured.

Police described the dump truck that fled the scene as a newer-model, clean silver or grey-colored vehicle.

Second Squad detectives are continuing the investigation and ask anyone who may have witnessed this incident or has information to contact them at 631-854-8252 or call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.  All calls will be kept confidential.

Nearly 700 pieces of snow removal equipment have fanned out across Suffolk County this weekend to clear the roads in time for the Monday morning rush hour commute, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who sent in additional plows and other equipment from across the state to help.

“Suffolk County has not seen a winter storm like Nemo in years, and the massive amount of snow left behind effectively shut down the entire region,” Cuomo said. “From the moment that it became clear that Suffolk County would bear the worst of the storm’s impact on New York, the state dispensed an unprecedented level of resources, equipment, and manpower to support local relief efforts.”

Motorists who had to abandon their vehicles on the Long Island Expressway during the snowstorm are advised to call 631-904-3050 for information.