Privacy update — September 18, 2026: Identifying details have been removed under our victim privacy policy.
What Happened
A 19-year-old Copiague man was seriously injured and arrested Friday afternoon after leading Suffolk County Police on a brief pursuit on a motorized scooter that ended in a collision with an SUV on Great Neck Road, according to a press release from the Suffolk County Police Department.
Officers from the SCPD First Precinct attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the 19-year-old Copiague man at approximately 12:05 p.m. on Friday, July 10, 2026. He was riding a 2025 Racestar motorized scooter southbound on Great Neck Road when officers moved to pull him over. Instead of complying, he refused to stop and attempted to evade the officers.
The pursuit ended when the scooter operator collided with a 2012 Ford Escape. The Suffolk County Police Department confirmed that the scooter operator sustained serious injuries in the crash. The identity and condition of the Ford Escape’s driver have not been publicly disclosed by police at this time.
The man was placed under arrest at the scene. He faces a charge of unlawfully fleeing a police officer, a charge that reflects the active evasion rather than simply failing to yield. Suffolk County Police have not yet confirmed whether additional charges — such as those related to the operation of the motorized scooter itself — are pending.
Location & Road Context
Great Neck Road in Copiague runs through a densely residential and commercially mixed corridor in the Town of Babylon in western Suffolk County. The road serves as a primary north-south artery connecting Copiague to Amityville and the broader South Shore, carrying significant local traffic that includes pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists accessing nearby schools and shopping areas. Long Island Traffic’s local incident database has recorded 599 accidents in Suffolk County, underscoring the county’s consistently high crash volume. The First Precinct, which covers western Suffolk communities including Babylon Town, responded to the scene.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
The arrested man was charged with unlawfully fleeing a police officer following the crash. Under New York State law, unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle is a class A misdemeanor at its base level, carrying a potential sentence of up to one year in jail, though the charge can be elevated to a felony depending on circumstances such as the degree of risk posed to others. The Suffolk County Police Department has not released information on arraignment date, bail status, or whether the case has been referred to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office for additional charges tied to the collision itself.