Incidents Nearby: Man in Wheelchair Struck by Truck

A Mack truck making a right turn onto Sunrise Highway in Lynbrook last Monday struck a man in a wheelchair, causing one of his legs to be amputated.

Witnesses at the scene say the victim, described as a Hispanic man in his sixties, was crossing Sunrise Highway northbound in his motorized chair using the crosswalk and its signal. (He was on his way to visit a relative working at the nearby lumber yard on Ocean Avenue, according to a witness.) The truck driver apparently didn't see him though and as he was making a right turn off of Ocean Avenue and onto the westbound side of Sunrise, he hit the man.

The truck amputated the victim's leg upon impact but he remained strapped in his chair, according to one eyewitness who was consoling the still-conscious-man as police and EMTs treated him at the scene. He was transported via a Nassau County Police Medevac helicopter to Nassau University Medical Center with multiple leg fractures and head trauma.

The current status of his condition is not known at this time.

A dispute between two drivers led to a chase around North Lynbrook last Monday evening that ended when one of the vehicles slammed into an occupied home on Whitehall Street.

The incident, which involved a white Volkswagen Bug and white four-door Chrysler, began blocks away at the site of an accident on Franklin Avenue in Valley Stream near the Sunoco gas station. The Chrysler allegedly approached the Bug, and one of the occupants started banging on the window. The two drivers exchanged words. When the light turned green, the Volkswagen pulled over to the side of the road to let the driver of the Chrysler pass him, but as the driver was doing so he allegedly hurled a glass bottle at the rear windshield of the Bug, shattering the glass and denting the metal.

The driver of the Chrysler allegedly sped away but the other drive pursued him, while calling police, in order to get the license plate number. As both cars were coming down Kensington Road, the driver of the Chrysler attempted to make a sharp left turn on Whitehall Street, an eyewitness told Patch, but he lost control and slammed into a house on the corner.

The homeowner, a father of two, and his teenage son were both sitting in their living room at the time. The boy was on the couch with his back to a window that faces Whitehall. It was his father, who was sitting across from him, who looked outside and saw the car speeding toward them.

"I screamed his name, he runs and then it hits the wall," he said. "[The driver] didn't hit the breaks, he just hit the wall and that stopped him."

The wall that the car hit was a stone facade that juts out from the house.

"It saved him from hitting the window," the homeowner told Patch, and possibly causing more damage.

The driver of the Chrysler, who appeared to be in his late teens or twenties, was arrested at the scene and had his license revoked. The vehicle was impounded. He had a female passenger, who appeared to be around the same age, in the car with him.

No injuries were reported.

Lynbrook Resident Victim of IRS Scam

A complainant reported to Lynbrook police on July 18 that they received an e-mail from the IRS stating that they won a million dollar sweepstakes from “Global Sweepstakes & Prize Release Center.”

The e-mail stated that the money was being held until additional information was obtained. The e-mail further stated that they should contact the IRS by using the phone number listed on the e-mail.

The complainant called the number, at which time “Mr. McKenzie” directed them to pay an initial fee of $500 and then they would have to pay an additional fee of $1,834 dollars to claim the prize. The complainant paid the $500 fee and scheduled an appointment to claim the prize.

The complainant called the IRS when “Mr. McKenzie” failed to show up and was informed that the e-mail was a fake and was then advised by the IRS to call the police.  

NOTE: Please do not pay any fee or supply any personal information requested from an e-mail or mailing delivered to your house until you consult your attorney or local police department.

A Long Beach man was arrested Saturday night after allegedly being found with drugs and a handgun during a routine traffic stop in Island Park.

According to Nassau County detectives, around 10:09 p.m., Fourth Precinct police officers witnessed Jesus Nunez, 25, of Island Park operating a 2002 Ford without a seat belt. Police said the vehicle's stereo was also extremely loud and several items were hanging from his rearview mirror. Seated in the front passenger seat was Jerome Harkless, 21, of Long Beach.

The vehicle was stopped on Railroad Place and as officers approached they observed Nunez in possession of a brown cigarette containing a substance believed to be marijuana, police said. It was also determined that he was operating the vehicle without a valid driver's license.

When Harkless was questioned, police stated that he produced a bag containing a substance believed to be marijuana from his pant's pocket. Both defendants were then removed from the vehicle.

During a search of Harkless a loaded .45 caliber handgun was recovered from his waistband, police said. Both defendants were placed into custody without incident. No injuries were reported.

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