Man indicted after hitting Baptist church

A Baldwin man accused of slamming his car into a church in March faces a 10-count criminal indictment, according to the Nassau district attorney’s office.

A grand jury indicted Sherif Wheeler, 22, Oct. 1 on 10 counts in the 4:25 a.m. crash at the Second Baptist Church in Baldwin.

Wheeler faces a top count of first-degree reckless endangerment, a felony. The remaining charges range from driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol and reckless driving to unlicensed driving of a vehicle.

Wheeler is accused of crashing a 2008 Inifiniti G35 into the church. In a news release, Acting District Attorney Madeline Singas said Wheeler allegedly was doing 100 mph and was impaired when the crash occurred on Sunday, March 8. “Had the incident happened just a few hours later,” Singas said, “the result could have been much worse than physical damage to the house of worship.”

According to the release, Wheeler was southbound on Grand Avenue when he lost control of the car and hit the church.

A male passenger, 20, was taken to a hospital for treatment. Wheeler was not hurt and fled, but later surrendered to the Nassau Police First Precinct. He did not have a license and his driving privileges had been suspended at the time of the crash, the release showed. Wheeler was arraigned before Acting Supreme Court Justice Alan Honorof, who set bail at $25,000 cash or bond. Wheeler is due back in court Oct. 17.