A man who allegedly fled a Nassau County police officer who stopped the minivan he was driving died when the ensuing chase ended in a high-speed crash that also killed his passenger in Elmont, authorities said.
A highway patrolman pulled over a Dodge Caravan on Main Street in Hempstead when the driver, 23-year-old Eduardo Sosa Zapata of Westbury, allegedly backed the minivan twice into the officer’s patrol car while the officer was walking up shortly after 4 a.m. Sunday, police said.
Zapata then fled eastbound on Center Street, police said. Shortly later, Fifth officers spotted the Dodge speeding westbound on Hempstead Turnpike, when they struck a northbound Ford at the corner of Meacham Avenue, police said.
The minivan then hit a nearby utility pole, killing Zapata and his passenger, 22-year-old Jackeline Reyes of Bellmore, police said. The other driver, a 22-year-old man, refused medical attention at the scene.
Homicide Squad detectives impounded both vehicles and are continuing the investigation.
