By Sarina Trangle
Nassau County detectives were pursuing four men they say crashed into a 2013 Land Rover in Flower Hill, L.I., stole the vehicle at gunpoint and dragged police into a car chase that ended Sunday night with the suspects ditching the vehicle at Queens Boulevard in Rego Park.
Police said a 51-year-old man reported that he was driving near Stoney Road and Chanticlare Drive in the Nassau village at 9:45 p.m., when four men in an older model, dark SUV struck his truck.
When the driver pulled over to assess the damage, authorities said two men flashed handguns and grabbed his wallet, jacket, car keys and an unknown amount of cash. The men pushed the driver to the ground and drove off in his Land Rover, police said.
The victim suffered minor back injuries.
A Nassau County officer stationed near Northern Boulevard and Community Drive in Manhasset, L.I., reported that the men crashed into his police car in an attempt to avoid arrests. The officer escaped from the collision uninjured and followed the car west on the Long Island Expressway, police said.
After police found the Land Rover abandoned near Queens Boulevard and 62nd Street in Rego Park, the NYPD and Nassau County officers unsuccessfully searched the area for the four men.
The stolen car was impounded.
Detectives have requested that anyone with information about the robbery or car chase contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
