The Nassau County Police Department is urging drivers to turn off and lock their cars while pumping gas after seeing an increase in car thefts at gas stations in the county.
One theft happened on Jan. 3 at 2:45 p.m. in Mineola, and another occurred on Jan. 8 at 8:50 a.m. in Westbury, according to police. Other vehicles have been stolen in Glen Head and Lake Success, according to reports.
“Lock your car and take your keys while you are pumping gas. Do not leave your car running at the gas pump,” Nassau police wrote on social media.
According to police, on the afternoon of Jan. 3, at BP Gas Station at 91 W. Jericho Tpke., a 60-year-old woman was pumping gas on the passenger side of her white 2020 Range Rover when an unknown man wearing a ski mask entered the vehicle through the driver side door and fled westbound Jericho Turnpike.
Inside the car were a handbag and a small white dog, who was later found and taken to the veterinarian after the man tried to throw the dog out the window. The vehicle was later found in East Orange, N.J., but the suspect remains at large.
Then, on the morning of Jan. 8, a 43-year-old man was fueling up his 2022 Mercedes at the Shell Gas Station at 865 Carman Ave. when an unknown black man exited from the passenger side of a nearby gray Audi, entered the man’s vehicle on the driver’s side, and drove away southbound on Carman Avenue, according to police.
The unknown person in the Audi followed. The man in the stolen Mercedes was then involved in an accident at the intersection of Carman Avenue and Hempstead Turnpike and fled the scene. The vehicle was later found near the intersection of Hempstead Turnpike and Park Avenue in East Meadow.
The investigations of are ongoing. Police encourage anyone with information about these incidents to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers remain anonymous.
