Suffolk County police are seeking information on dozens of people responsible for turning a highway service road into a dangerous stunt-driving event Sunday morning.
Police describe arriving onto a chaotic scene while responding to multiple 911 calls about traffic being blocked on a westbound Sunrise Highway service road in Islip around 1 a.m. Two officers were hospitalized, squad cars were damaged and one vehicle burned.
“A Third Precinct officer was involved in a motor vehicle crash, striking a pole while attempting to avoid a person in the roadway,” Suffolk County officials said in a statement obtained by the New York Daily News.
When that officer exited his vehicle to stop a Mustang “recklessly driving in circles” in an intersection, that driver fled the scene and crashed into another vehicle, police said.
The suspect ran away on foot as his Mustang caught fire. The other vehicle’s driver reported no injuries.
Another officer responding to the scene crashed into a pole on the eastbound Sunrise Highway service road, authorities said.
Two other motorists fleeing the area were also involved in wrecks. One of those motorists crashed into a pole and fled on foot. The other hit a tree and was issued multiple summonses, authorities said.
Both officers were treated at a local hospital and released. Three of the tires on one of their crashed cruisers were slashed, officials said.
At least 100 people where were involved in the mayhem, according to News12 on Long Island. Area locals who said the recklessness prevented an ambulance from passing through were “disgusted” by what they saw.
“I really was,” Mike Holmes told News12. “This is what our society has come to?”
Holmes said he went outside to film the lawlessness that awoke his family. He called in “scary.”
Central Islip resident Kenny Bradley felt the whole incident was a waste of everyone’s time and energy.
“I just feel like it’s unnecessary,” he told News 12.
Skidmarks were still visible after chaos ended Sunday morning. Fire crews were filmed dealing with its aftermath.
