Crime & Safety

Police Chase through Westhampton Ends in Moriches Bay Waters

Eastport Fire Department rescued officer and 36-year-old Brookhaven man after the two cars crashed into Moriches Bay.

A chase that started around 12:05 a.m. in Westhampton ended when both a 36-year-old Brookhaven man, driving a stolen car, and a Southampton police officer chasing him crashed into Moriches Bay.

According to police, both the officer and man had to climb on top of their roofs to get out of the frigid water until the Eastport Fire Department could rescue them.

Police say the chase began when the officer noticed a car heading east on Montauk Highway in Westhampton swerving and operating without tail lights.

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Though police said the officer turned on his sirens and tried the to pull the car over, the car's driver, Vincent Thomas, hit the gas and turned onto Basket Neck Lane in Remsenburg. He then turned onto a dark, dirt road that ended at the bay.

Both cars had no time to stop before they hit the water, police said.

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A check of the vehicle found that the car was stolen from the Bayport area.

Thomas was charged with driving while impaired by drugs, a misdemeanor; criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, a felony; unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in the second degree, a felony; criminal mischief in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor; unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle in the third degree, a misdemeanor; aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, a felony; and reckless endangerment in the first degree, a felony.

Thomas was also charged with a number of traffic violations.

Neither the officer nor Thomas were injured in the crash.


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