By JUDY RATTNER
after he led them on a high-speed car chase on Peninsula Boulevard, crashed into a patrol car, and then took off on foot.
Three people - two police officers and the suspect, Brian Frazier, 37, of 150th Street in Jamaica - were injured. Officer Ernest Ziegler sustained neck and back injuries when his parked patrol car was hit head-on by the car Frazier was driving, and officer Salvatore Mazza, who eventually caught up with Frazier and was able to subdue and arrest him, suffered a puncture wound in his hand. The officers were taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital, where they were treated and released. Frazier was taken to Nassau University Medical Center.
According to detectives, village police officers responded to a report of a suspicious-looking man wearing a ski cap in the backyard of a home on North Village Avenue, near the corner of Lexington Street, shortly before dawn. While en route to investigate, police received word that the suspect was in a car heading west on Lexington toward Peninsula Boulevard without its headlights on.
Officers saw the car and tried to stop it, using lights and sirens. The driver refused to stop, and slowed down only briefly to allow a passenger to jump out and run toward a wooded area on North Village Avenue. That suspect is still at large.
The car continued on to the northbound lanes of Peninsula Boulevard, traveling at an estimated speed of 60 mph. Police said it then intentionally swerved to strike a patrol car that was parked, facing south, on the center median, causing substantial damage to both vehicles. The suspect next drove across the southbound lanes of Peninsula and hit a barrier. The driver, Frazier, jumped out of the car and ran toward the Skelos Sports Complex, where he was taken into custody.
At the Village Board of Trustees briefing that evening, Mayor Mary Bossart said, "The news came in early [this] morning that police had pursued a burglary suspect who fled northbound on Peninsula Boulevard and then deliberately rammed a Rockville Centre patrol car head-on.
"Thankfully, officer Ernie Ziegler was not seriously injured, even though the impact drove the engine into the passenger compartment of the patrol car," Bossart continued. "Officer Salvatore Mazza sustained injuries when he successfully pursued and arrested the suspect, who tried to flee by climbing the fence into the Skelos Sports Complex.
"These two officers did a superb job making this arrest, and we commend them for their complete steadfastness and zeal in protecting the people of Rockville Centre."
Frazier was charged with multiple felonies, including three counts of assault, criminal possession of a weapon, unlawfully fleeing from an officer, aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury, and reckless driving. He was arraigned in the hospital on Aug. 1.
Frazier was due back in First District Court in Mineola on Tuesday, as the Herald went to press.
Ariella Monti contributed to this story. Comments about it? RVCeditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 208.
