An East Meadow man who allegedly led police on 14-mile, cross-county chase that injured two policemen was apprehended after he drove down a dead end, authorities said.
A Suffolk County police officer pulled over a driver at the Long Island Expressway exit 49 Park and Ride when the suspect, Robert Stein, drove off, dragging the officer 200 feet after his gun belt got caught on the side-view mirror at 10 a.m. Friday, authorities said.
“We had two prior incidents of this individual getting away from police,” Second Squad Det. Sgt. Steven Bluethgen said, noting that the 54-year-old suspect was wanted for repeatedly stealing fuel from gas stations.
Stein fled into Nassau County, where he was eventually apprehended after driving down a dead end, East 2nd Street in Mineola, police said.
A New York State Trooper who had joined the pursuit crashed during the chase at the corner of Jericho Turnpike and Nassau Boulevard in Garden City Park, police said.
The Trooper was taken to Winthrop Hospital where he was treated and released for a head injury. The Suffolk officer was treated at Huntington Hospital for lacerations and contusions.
Stein was charged with assault of a police officer, reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an incident with injury, petit larceny and unlawfully fleeing a police officer. He will be arraigned Saturday at First District Court in Central Islip.
