Crime & Safety

Police: Man Driving Stolen Car on Drugs Arrested After Fleeing Wrong-Way Crash

Ivan Torres, 34, faces multiple charges following arrest Thursday.

Correction: We originally reported that the crash occurred in Deer Park based on info from State Police. That info was incorrect as the crash occurred in North Babylon. We apologize for the error. 

An Oceanside man driving a stolen SUV while on drugs was arrested Thursday afternoon after he led State Police on a short pursuit and then fled after he crashed the vehicle while driving the wrong-way on Route 231 in North Babylon, police said. 

Ivan Torres, 34, is charged with fourth degree criminal possession of stolen property, unlawful fleeing, second degree reckless endangerment, possession of a hypodermic needle and driving while ability impaired by drugs. 

Torres led a trooper on a pursuit on the Southern State Parkway and then drove the 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer, which had been stolen earlier in the day in from Nassau County, southbound in the northbound lanes of Route 231, police said. 

The SUV was then "involved in a minor property damage accident," and Torres fled on foot, police said. 

Torres was located and arrested with the assistance of a Suffolk County Police Department K-9 Unit. 
 
Suffolk police also charged Torres with third degree grand larceny for a theft from a Sayville jewelry store last Dec. 3. 


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