A driver was arrested for allegedly crashing an SUV into a Panera Bread restaurant in East Farmingdale, seriously injuring a woman and fleeing the scene on Thursday morning, Suffolk County police said.
Jerome Arnold of Farmingdale was driving his Nissan Pathfinder westbound through the parking lot of Walmart when he crashed into another vehicle, fled the scene and then struck a parked vehicle the eatery and drove into its dining room at 10:20 a.m., police said.
Two women that were dining together were injured, including 34-year-old Ragen Ryan of Massapequa, who was pinned under the Pathfinder, and Marianne Turndahl, 37, of Rockville Centre.
Ryan was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she is hospitalized in serious condition with multiple fractures. Turndahl was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip in stable condition.
Arnold was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle for allegedly driving with a suspended license. He will be arraigned at a later date.
First Squad detectives ask anyone who may have witnessed this incident and have not been interviewed to call them at 631-854-8152.
